ISLAMABAD: Farmers on Tuesday ended their seven-day long sit-in after Interior Minister Rana Sanullah announced that the government has abolished Fuel Charge Adjustment (FCA) from agricultural tube well electricity bills and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will announce an agricultural package within the next 10 days.
Talking to reporters at the sit-in venue, the interior minister said that the government has also accepted the farmers’ demand of payment of their electricity bills in instalments. The government has already accepted farmers’ demand with respect to the deferment in payment of the electricity bills of tube wells and also issued a notification in this regard, he said.
He said that the farmer delegation led by Kissan Ittehad Pakistan (KIP) Chairman Khalid Hussain Butt met with the prime minister and placed their demands before him. The prime minister accepted their demand, he said, adding that the prime minister has constituted a ministerial committee for addressing other demands of the farmers. He said that the committee will meet today (Wednesday) and bring out a way out for addressing other demands presented by the farmers.
The minister said that the prime minister will announce a Kissan package within the next 10 days and the package will not only resolve farmers’ problems but also play a vital role in promoting the agriculture sector in the country.
The farmers’ well-being will bring prosperity to the country, he said, adding that the negotiation between the government and the farmers has succeeded and now they need to end their sit-in and go home peacefully, he said.
After the announcement of the interior minister, the KIP chairman announced ending the seven-day-long sit-in. Earlier, three rounds of talks between farmers and government officials had ended in failure.
The protest rally of a large of farmers under the umbrella KIP led by its chairman Khalid Hussain Butt reached the capital city on September 28 after removing the barricades erected by the police to avert their entry to the city. They continued their sit-in at Blue Area on Jinnah Avenue under the Faisal Avenue underpass.
The capital police for the sixth day had blocked entry into Red Zone from NADRA Chowk, Ayub Chowk, Express Chowk as well as blocked some other roads due to which heavy traffic jam was witnessed in the city, and motorists faced problems.
The other demands of the protesters include a reduction in the price of fertilizers including urea and DAP as well as the provision of electricity to farmers at the rate of Rs5.35 per unit.
The demands also include the provision of subsidies on fertilisers and diesel, while taxes on agricultural machinery and tractors should be abolished. They also demanded that government fix the minimum support price (MSP) at Rs4,000 per 40kg. They also urged the government to decrease the prices of pesticides
A heavy contingent of police personnel and prison vans were deployed at the protest venue as well as across the city.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022