F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Monday directed the federal and provincial governments to present daily reports in the Senate about the steps being taken to resolve the wheat crisis in the country.
The chairman gave the ruling after senators from both the treasury and opposition benches expressed serious concerns in the House about the wheat shortage and increase in the prices of essential commodities and medicines.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said the wheat shortage was not an issue of one party, rather it had put immense pressure on every citizen of the country. The people were feeling the pressure of inflation.
He said first wheat was exported and now it was being imported, adding the matter should be referred to the Committee of Food Security.
Senator Javed Abbasi said Pakistan was self-sufficient in wheat but it was a matter of grave concern that the people were facing problems due to the shortage of the commodity.
He said the Sindh and Balochistan governments were claiming that they had written to the Federal Government that they were running out of wheat stocks.
Senator Javed said in the past a health minister had resigned over raise in medicine prices, which, however, was not reversed.
Gas was not available in many parts of the country, while its price had been hiked, he added.
He urged the government to devise policies for generating employments, reducing prices and attracting investment.
Senator Sirajul Haq said Pakistan was a leading producer of wheat, sugarcane, and fruits and vegetables but people were suffering from their shortages.
The price of roti (bread) had increased and those of the medicines also, he added.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said it was a fact that there was shortage of flour and the government had categorically stated that the crisis would end in the next few days.
He said one reason for the flour crisis was the wrong data provided by the provincial governments and disruption of wheat supply due to the strike of transporters.
The flour crisis had hit the country many times in the past as well, he said, adding there was need to undertake more research in the agriculture sector.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said Pakistan was the food basket and according to experts, if available resources were utilized properly then it could even meet the food needs of a continent like Africa.
The government should take severe action against those responsible for the present flour crisis, he demanded.
Senator Abdul Qayyum said when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government came into power, it faced the challenges of terrorism, energy crisis and economic revival, which it had overcome.
Now the militancy was again raising its head, with crisis in the energy sector and growing inflation, he added.
He asked the government to plan ahead about the future food requirements of the country by keeping in view the population, area under cultivation and yield.
Those elements should also be held accountable, who were involved in profiteering and hoarding, he added.
Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the monthly wheat requirement of the country was 200,000 metric tons.
Last year the country produced 24 million tonnes, he said adding export and smuggling of wheat was done.
The wheat was exported at the rate of Rs 29 per kilogram, while now it was being sold for Rs 70 per kg in the country, he claimed.
He said the Federal Government was complaining that it was given wrong information by the provinces. The prices of sugar had also gone up, he added.
Senator Muzaffar Shah, who is the chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Food Security and Research, said the reasons for the wheat crisis should be determined through an investigation by the committee. First the wheat was exported and now the people were facing its shortage.
He said farmers were complaining that prices of inputs like seeds, fertilizers and electricity tariff had gone up. The minimum support price for farmers should be determined before the cultivation season of the crops like sugarcane, wheat and cotton, he stressed.
Senator Usman Kakar claimed that inflation had risen to 13 to 15 percent as prices of some items had increased many folds. Different mafias were working against the interests of the people.
Leader of the House Shibli Faraz said Minister for Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar would brief the House on Tuesday about the situation of wheat supply.
The House referred the matter raised by Senator Prof Dr Mehr Taj Roghani about the practice of re-employment of retired employees of Pakistan International Airlines on contract basis, to the committee.
Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar said the government had no policy of re-employment in the PIA.
However, the previous government and the Supreme Court decided to re-employ experienced pilots.
The House also referred to the relevant committee, the matter raised by Senator Kalsoom Perveen about enhancing the limit of age relaxation for recruitment in the Federal Government departments for further two years.
The House passed the resolution of Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi asking the government to take necessary steps to implement its ease of doing business programme in letter and spirit and facilitate the business community to encourage the local and foreign investors to make investment in the country.
The House also passed a resolution recommending that the government should take immediate steps to provide official accommodations to all the employees working in the government and semi-government departments.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati while responding to the motions moved by the senators, said the economy had stabilized due to the measures taken by the government.
The government inherited a weak economy and a very high current account deficit but now due to its different initiatives, the international financial institutions had expressed their confidence in the Pakistani economy, he added.
He said it was a fact that in the past $ 25 billion was spent on keeping the rupee at a lower value against the dollar but it did not have any positive impact on economic growth, employment generation and exports.
Swati said exports had increased by 4.5 percent, imports had came down by 21 percent and the trade deficit had gone down by 17 percent.
He said in the year 2020, the economy would move towards a better condition.
There was a shortfall of hundreds of billions of rupees in taxes and revenue during the previous government, he said adding now the budget deficit was under control.
