Asserting that the farmers of Punjab did not want a Kissan Package but their rights, Kissan Ittehad Chairman Khalid Khokhar on Wednesday said that the Ittehad rejected the package, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a press conference with other office-bearers of the Ittehad sitting alongside him, he said that farmers were in a state of mourning. “What we want is a reward for our hard work. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz does not want to meet us. Nobody talks about the economy in assemblies,” he said, and added, “Farmers are livid because this year they did not receive the price of the wheat crop. Besides that, expensive electricity, petrol and fertilizers have added fuel to the fire.”
He lamented that money was minted by importing wheat during the tenure of caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, but no inquiry was held to punish those involved in the scam.
He went on to say that the wheat issue was not confined to a province, but was a national issue.
Also on Wednesday, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said that first of all the Sindh government should tell what it had done for the farmers of the province before pointing fingers at the Punjab government.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore with Provincial Minister for Agriculture Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani sitting alongside her, she said that too much uproar was created on the canal issue. “In fact, it is not an issue from the word go.”
Reacting to PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan’s presser in which he had mentioned her name, Azma said Chan had the habit of switching loyalties. “He was in the PPP, then he joined the PTI. And now he again is in the PPP.”
The minister went on to say that this year the price of fertilizers was less compared with previous years.
Speaking on the occasion, Kirmani said that the Punjab government’s one-year performance had shown that for it, farmers were an asset. “We announced Rs4 billion worth package for the farmers, which is unprecedented,” he said, and asked what steps other provincial governments took to provide relief to the farmers.
“Compare us with former chief minister Usman Buzdar. And you will see the difference,” the minister said, and added, “During Buzdar’s tenure, farmers did not get fertilizers. This time, however, they used fertilizers courtesy the Kissan Card.”
He announced that next year, 20,000 farmers would be given tractors. “The provincial government also gave livestock cards to farmers.”
Kirmani claimed that CM Maryam chaired a meeting on the issues confronting the farmers every day early in the morning.