Islamabad: Farmers from Pakistan’s Punjab province on Tuesday called off their week-long protest after the federal government gave them assurances that their demands will be accepted.
The farmers have been protesting since September 28 here in the federal capital under the banner of Kisan Ittehad (Farmer’s Union), against rising cost of electricity and fertilisers, which have badly hit their income.
The Kissan Ittehad chief, Khalid Butt, while addressing a press conference along with Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said the group is calling off the protest.
The government has assured us that all of our demands will be accepted, he said.
Sanaullah said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee to resolve their issues.
“The committee will hold negotiations with the farmers tomorrow. All the issues of the farmers will be resolved,” the minister said.
Officials said the farmers came from across Punjab province and were demanding restoration of the previous tubewell electricity tariff of Rs 5.3 per unit and abolishing of all taxes and adjustments.
Besides, they are seeking an end to black marketing of fertilisers and reduction of urea rate which has risen to 400 per cent, according to the Dawn newspaper.
The minister said that the government agreed to the farmers’ demands, which included payment of electricity bills after due dates and permission to pay power bills in installments, and cancellation of fuel adjustment charges on those bills.
He said only the nominated delegation members from the Kissan Ittehad should stay back for further negotiations.
It is our responsibility to solve your demands and we will do it, Sanaullah said.
The minister also said that the prime minister would announce a package for farmers in 10 days, which would bring relief to the farming community.
It is our philosophy that Pakistan will be prosperous when farmers are prosperous. So, we will consider all things in a better manner and solve these problems, he added.
Agriculture is a provincial subject and the federal government cannot address major issues of the farmers as respective provinces are free to make policies about the agriculture sector, the report said.
However, electricity and fertiliser prices are controlled by the federal government and that is why farmers have landed in Islamabad to get relief on the two key inputs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 29 approved the release of a USD 1.17 billion tranche to Pakistan, providing much-needed budgetary support to meet fiscal and external deficits.
Despite the disbursal of the IMF tranche, the economic situation remains precarious, as the depleted forex reserves stood at only around USD 7.7 billion as on August 24.
The devastating floods, which have left more than 1,700 dead and displaced more than 33 million people, added to Pakistan’s forex woes, with an estimated loss of over USD 30 billion to the economy.
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