Food departments urged to issue government wheat at uniform rates

Pakistan flour Mills Association (PFMA) expressing concern over the prevailing situation of flour and wheat in the country has urged all the provincial food departments to issue government wheat on uniform rates to the millers. This demand was made during a meeting of the PFMA Central Committee held here on Tuesday under the chair of Muhammad Naeem Butt.
The meeting was also attended by PFMA honorary advisor Bilal Aslam Sufi, PFMA Punjab Chairman Habib ur Rehman Leghari, NWFP Chairman Haji Muhammad Sadiq, Sindh Chairman Iqbal Dawood and executive committee members came from all over the country.
In the meeting a unanimous resolution was adopted that criticised ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat and flour and termed it as a conspiracy against the Federation and the Punjab government. The meeting demanded that ban on wheat transportation should immediately be abolished as it was a violation of article 151 (2), process to seal flour mills or levy heavy fines in Punjab should be stopped.
Moreover, Naeem said that their efforts were aimed at removing the ban on inter-provincial transportation of wheat and flour and a meeting had been called in the Capital of all the provincial food secretaries and a favourable decision was expected soon in this regard. The meeting also unanimously decided not to go on to a strike.
The meeting also drew the attention of the Federal government towards the fact that rate of flour was lower in Punjab than other provinces. It had gone out of purchasing power of the masses in rest of the country, the meeting observed.
Speaking on this occasion, Muhammad Naeem Butt informed the participants that they had a meeting with the Federal Food Minister, Nazar Muhammad Gondal in Islamabad and gave a patient hearing to their demands.
Meanwhile, he assured the millers to talk to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to resolve the problems faced by the flour millers to get loans. A tri-partite meeting is shortly expected in Islamabad in this regard. He said that directives had also been issued to all the provinces for issuance of wheat and the process would start before the sacred month of Ramadan.