PM orders to guarantee urea fertilizer supply at government-controlled rates.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Monday directed the relevant departments to draft and submit an action plan as soon as possible to guarantee a continuous supply of urea on a priority basis.
According to the 24News HD TV channel, he chaired an emergency review meeting concerning the supply, demand, and cost of urea fertilizer and gave the order to guarantee that farmers receive urea fertilizer at the government-controlled rate and to turn in a report on the matter by tomorrow (Tuesday).
He directed that a comprehensive framework should be prepared and presented in consultation with the provinces and the relevant industry to ensure an uninterrupted supply of urea fertilizer during crop sowing.
The PM asked the district administration to take immediate action against the hoarders of the fertilizer and identify and punish those responsible.
Kakar said the government subsidy on urea fertilizer must be extended to deserving farmers.
He directed the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Food Security to provide the production and supply statistics of urea fertilizer to the provincial governments to ensure cooperation in operations to prevent hoarding of fertilizer.
PM Kakar said fertilizer transportation should be monitored on all provincial borders, and the fertilizer which is meant to meet the provincial requirement should not be obstructed in any way.
The PM said all provinces should bear the burden of subsidy on urea fertilizer in proportion to their consumption.
Earlier, a detailed briefing was given in the meeting on the recent production, demand and supply of urea fertilizer to farmers in the country.
The meeting was told that the production and stock of urea in the country was sufficient for the recent wheat crop. Whereas 220,000 metric tons of urea is being imported for buffer stock, the first batch of which will reach Pakistan by next week.
In the meeting, the chief secretaries of the four provinces also gave a briefing on the steps taken by the district administration to ensure the supply of fertilizers to the farmers at government-concessional prices.
The meeting was informed that the summaries to provide subsidies from the provinces would be presented in the cabinets of all the provinces for approval very soon.
Caretaker Ministers Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Captain (retd) Shahid Ashraf Tarrar, Dr Kausar Abdul Mulk, Muhammad Ali, relevant high officials and chief secretaries of all the provinces attended the meeting.