Flour millers say shutting down mills in three provinces

Rejecting the offer of talks by Punjab government, Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has announced that it is shutting down is operations from today for an "indefinite" period.

The strike call has been given by the PFMA central leadership as a protest against raids by the provincial food department on flour mills under the anti-hoarding ordinance and stoppage of supply of wheat to KPK and Balochistan flour mills.

Announcing their decision at a press conference here on Sunday, PFMA Central Chairman Asim Raza Ahmad, along with PFMA Punjab Chairman Abdur Rauf Mukhtar and others, at the PFMA head office claimed that they had reached the office of the Secretary Food Punjab for negotiations but cancelled this meeting after they received information that their flour mills in Multan had been sealed. He said that they are shutting down mills in Punjab, KPK and Balochistan.

He alleged that wheat-laden vehicles of flour mills were forcibly stopped by the food department and forcibly unloaded at the official procurement centers.

Asim Raza Ahmad said that flour mills were being raided illegally while officials of the food department then publicize this raid as they had won Kashmir. He said that no mill is ghost mill, every mill has its own building and machinery then how come these be called as Ghost mills.

He also claimed that wheat prices in the open market are increasing due to intervention of the provincial food department and all the responsibility of any shortage of flour will rest on the district administration and the government.

PFMA leadership asked the government to stop painting flour mill owners as hoarders in the media. They rejected the offer of the negotiation by the Punjab food department saying that on one hand government is offering table talk and on the other it is sealing mills in Multan.

PFMA Central Chairman held the secretary food and director food as responsible for the situation in which they are announcing strike. He said that now they can only hold talks with the Chief Minister and the Senior Food Minister Punjab.

PFMA Punjab Chairman alleged that the provincial food department had even lifted the grinding quota of the mills while cases are also being registered against millers. He said that raids are being held in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Sargodha. He also urged the government to withdraw the cases registered against the millers.