ISLAMABAD: The government came under fire in National Assembly on Monday over rising fertiliser prices and its failure to enforce official liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rates, as lawmakers challenged official assurances and demanded effective measures to protect farmers and consumers from escalating costs.
Speaking on a calling attention notice moved by Khurshid Ahmed and others on fertiliser prices, lawmakers questioned the government’s handling of rising DAP and urea costs, highlighting the financial pressure on farmers and the gap between official claims and market conditions.
Responding to the calling attention notice, Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain defended the government, saying all urea plants were operational and crediting the petroleum minister with ensuring gas supplies to maintain production.
He attributed higher DAP prices to the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on imported raw materials.
Claiming that fertiliser selling for Rs19,000 elsewhere was available in Pakistan for Rs17,000, he maintained that urea and DAP prices had not increased over the preceding two years.
He said the government was providing subsidies on fertiliser, wheat and seeds to ease farmers’ financial burden.
He also cited the recently announced indicative support price of Rs4,500 per maund for wheat for the 2027 crop year, saying the measure was intended to support growers.
The House also discussed the government’s failure to enforce notified LPG prices, with lawmakers pointing out that the commodity, officially priced at Rs280, was selling for as much as Rs700 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Responding to a separate calling-attention notice, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik cited supply-chain pressures, rising demand and disruptions, while pointing to port-related arrangements intended to improve availability.
JUI-F MNA Naeema Kishwar rejected the effectiveness of the existing pricing mechanism, arguing that LPG was unavailable at the official rate anywhere in the country.
She called for stronger government intervention and questioned the suspension of imports from Iran, alleging that supplies had instead been diverted to Afghanistan.
Malik said the government was exploring alternative LPG imports to counter price hikes caused by regional insecurity.
Separately, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq barred parliamentary secretaries from answering questions concerning ministries other than their own after lawmakers across party lines protested ministers’ persistent absence during question hour.
“As long as I am chairing the proceedings, no parliamentary secretary will be allowed to answer questions concerning any ministry other than his or her own,” he declared, following a cross-party backlash against secretaries being asked to respond on behalf of absent ministers on matters beyond their portfolios.
PPP MNA Naveed Qamar argued that parliamentary secretaries should answer only for their respective ministries instead of being expected to speak for the government as a whole.
Rana Tanveer, the minister for national food security, also questioned whether parliamentary secretaries could reasonably be expected to respond to questions concerning every ministry.
He argued, however, that Qamar should not object to a practice permitted under existing rules, while agreeing that secretaries should confine their answers to their own portfolios. He also categorically stated that there was no shortage of wheat in the country.
JUI-F MNA Abdul Ghafoor Haideri welcomed the Speaker’s intervention, questioning the preparedness of secretaries asked to explain the affairs of departments they might know little about.
“Most of the parliamentary secretaries could not even read out from the paper,” he remarked.
JUI-F MNA Aliya Kamran also raised concerns about their limited knowledge, while Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar backed the principle that questions should be answered by the relevant parliamentary secretary.
Citing the applicable rules and a Cabinet decision, Tarar said the government would ensure that the ministers concerned dealt with questions relating to their own affairs.
The House also passed six bills: the Pakistan Study Centres (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Travel Agencies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Pakistan Tourist Guides (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Pakistan Hotels and Restaurants (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Motion Pictures (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The House also offered fateha for ex-army chief Gen (retd) Abdul Waheed Kakar, who died in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026