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QUETTA: The Balochistan chapter of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association on Monday warned of a country-wide closure of mills if trucks carrying the commodity were not allowed free movement.
Syed Nasir Agha, who heads the regional chapter, said at a press conference he had received complaints that police were stopping vehicles carrying flour, ostensibly to search them for illegal transportation of wheat, sugar and fertiliser.
He said the Pakistan Flour Mills Association had directed the heads of its district chapters to apprise the authorities concerned about the hurdles being faced by them in carrying out their business.
“If our demands are not accepted, we’ll hold nationwide protests, which could eventually lead to the indefinite closure of flour mills across the country,” Nasir Agha sounded a warning.
Steps to check smuggling
The government has ordered all law enforcement agencies to work in tandem to eliminate smuggling of sugar and fertiliser.
The scarcity of sugar and increase in its prices has spurred mill owners and the mafia to step in and take over possession of stocks in an attempt to reap windfall profits. All that the agencies could do was to watch helplessly.
The government placed a ban on the supply of sugar to border districts of Balochistan, but soon there was a spate of complaints that law enforcement agencies were blocking the transportation of wheat and flour as well.
Consequently many districts in the province have reported shortage of wheat and flour. This has in turn led to a price spiral.
A Customs official said stopping flour-carrying vehicles at checkpoints was “abject cruelty”.
He expressed fears of a massive shortage of wheat flour in Balochistan as transporters were facing problems in carrying the commodity from one district to another.
“It’s an irony that at a time when flour mills in other provinces are turning to the latest technology, those in Balochistan are being shut down one by one.”
Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2023
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