Restrictions on the movement of wheat and flour from Punjab to NWFP has become a bone of contention between both provinces, which the later declaring as illegal, unconstitutional. The provincial government of NWFP has also taken exception to advertisements published in newspapers regarding supply of flour and maida to the province from Punjab.
The government of Punjab in ads has blamed the restrictions on the movement of both commodities to the province while on contact, senior officials of Punjab disowned the advertisements and admitted the supply of 3000 tons fine Atta and maida to the province.
The matter was brought to light by the NWFP Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussein, who was also flanked by Provincial Minister for Food, Mohammad Shuja Khan.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who is also the official spokesman of the ANP-PPP coalition government in NWFP said that the advertisements are creating the impression that Punjab is supplying sufficient flour to the province and prevailing crisis was due to the incompetence of the provincial government.
Interestingly, both senior officials of the government and officials of the Department of Food, Punjab have expressed ignorance and disowned the advertisements. The publishing of such kind of advertisements is totally unjustified and creating difficulties for the government. He said that the due to monopoly of Punjab on wheat, the price of flour in NWFP has gone up Rs 300 per bag in NWFP.
"Different price of flour in two provinces of the same country was not understandable," said the minister. He urged both federal and provincial governments to fulfil their constitutional obligations and remove the existing restrictions on the supply of wheat and flour to the province.
The Minister for Food, Mohammad Shuja Khan said that according to an understanding reached between NWFP and Punjab during the interim government before February 18, Punjab had pledged supply of 0.7 million tons wheat to the province against one million tons consumption while the remaining gap was to be filled through purchasing wheat from the open market.
He said that the province had never demanded the supply of fine Atta and maida from Punjab. Before Ramazan, Punjab was supplying 4000 tons flour to the province on daily basis, which was later cut down to 2000 tons and now jacked up to 3000 tons.
Shuja Khan dispelled the impression of the smuggling of flour to tribal areas and said that the movement of food items inside the country is no crime. However, he said if Punjab has objections then it should take up the matter with federal government. The daily requirement of NWFP, he said is 8000 tons while we are getting 3000 tons on daily basis. The province, he said has to pay an extra amount of Rs 8 billion on account of wheat subsidy.
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