Pakistan: Protest staged against price-hike, flour crisis

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A large number of people, including traders, farmers and students, staged a protest against the prevailing price-hike and wheat flour crisis in the district on Tuesday.

The leaders of Pakhtun Qaumi Movement (PQM) and the Tajir Ittehad, the body of traders and shopkeepers, had jointly organised the protest rally to press the government and officials of the local administration to take notice of wheat flour shortage and price-hike.

Addressing the protesters at Farooq-e-Azam Chowk, traders’ leaders Habib Khan, Iftikhar Khan and PQM president Wali Muhammad Khan said that price of wheat flour per bag had been increased over Rs1,000 in just in a month, which hit the mark of Rs3,100 per bag.

They said that the flour mafia had created an artificial shortage of the staple commodity to fleece the people and get quick bucks.

The speakers condemned the government and said that the rulers had snatched the morsel from the mouth of the poor and were hand in glove with millers to exploit the masses.

They said that the rulers had miserably failed to provide relief to the people fearing that the country was heading towards anarchy due to flawed policies of the government.

They urged the officials of the district administration to take steps against the owners of flourmills and corrupt dealers, who had created an artificial crisis.

TAKHTBHAI: The local political activists and traders’ leaders on Tuesday announced to launch a protest movement against the prevailing price-hike, flour crisis, gas and electricity loadshedding tomorrow (Thursday)

Speaking at a joint meeting of Markazi Anjumane-eTajiran, Tanzim-e-Tajiran and Tehrik Tahaffuz-e- Takhtbhai, Maazullah Khan Mohmand, ex-nazim Javed Iqbal Mohmand, Sardaraz Khan, Safiullah Safi, Dr Rahmat Gul and others said that people were experiencing worst kind of gas and electricity loadshedding besides price-hike of essential items and wheat flour crisis.

They lambasted the government and officials of the local administration for their failure to control the skyrocketing price-hike, flour shortage and gas and electricity loadshedding in Takhtbhai and adjoining areas.

They threatened to stage a protest sit-in for an indefinite period on the Mardan-Malakand road against the issues being confronted by the people. (The News International)