BR op-ed writer Rashed Rahman deserves accolades for presenting the causes and reasons of ‘Pakistan’s Kissan Andolan’ in an effective and meaningful manner.

He has begun his argument by stating that “The wheat crisis has thrown up a host of troubling questions that revolve around the persistent wisdom that in our governance system, the left hand seldom knows what the right hand is doing.

Or, alternatively, one hand is engaging in manipulation undetected by the other.“ It is true that the caretaker setup led by Anwaarul Haq Kakar was responsible for laying the seeds for the present wheat crisis during his extraordinary long tenure as the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan. But one must not lose sight of the fact that the interim setup was in fact the continuation of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government by all accounts.

That is why the nation is witnessing to its sheer chagrin the incumbent government’s reluctance to tackle the challenge head-on. The committee constituted by the government to investigate the scam, therefore, lacks legitimacy in view of the fact that the present government led by Shehbaz Sharif is itself a party or an accused in relation to this mega scam.

The situation, in my view, underscores the need for apex court’s intervention immediately. All those behind this scam must be taken to task without any leniency. Needless to say, agriculture constitutes the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, and wheat crop is the principal mainstay of agriculture in our country.

That this scam has dealt a serious blow to the agri prospects in the country is a fact. All those involved must therefore find themselves in the dock without any further loss of time.

Naseem Azhar Arain (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024