The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad on Monday demanded the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, threatening a march on Rawalpindi from Sept. 25 if its demand is unmet.
Addressing a press conference, Ittehad President Mian Umair Masood and Chairman Khalid Hussain Batth claimed the farming community risked devastation if the incumbent chief minister remained in office for the rest of her two-and-a-half-year term.
Claiming they had no political enmity with the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), they claimed Nawaz had not accorded the agriculture sector due consideration and was favoring a few rather than all farmers. They alleged that farmers had suffered Rs. 2,200 billion in losses due to the provincial government’s refusal to procure wheat, which the government claims was part of conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Condemning the federal decision to import 3.5 million tons of wheat two years ago, they said the losses were further compounded this year when potato farmers faced deficits of Rs. 250,000/acre and cotton yields continued to plummet from 60 maunds to 12 maunds per acre.
Additionally, they said, fertilizer costs had spiked from Rs. 2,400 in 2016 to Rs. 16,600 today, while urea prices had jumped from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 4,600, and electricity tariffs for tube-wells had reached Rs. 40/unit from the previous Rs. 5/unit.
Criticizing the provincial—but not federal—bureaucracy, they also questioned the Punjab government’s claim of a 21.9 million-ton wheat yield this year, alleging actual production did not exceed 15 million tons. They said that they had now lost hope in the civilian leadership and would march on Rawalpindi to appeal for relief directly to the military leadership.