Balochistan’s traders protest against rising inflation

BALOCHISTAN, (ANI): The traders’ community of Balochistan on Wednesday protested against the rising inflation and warned the government to improve the situation within three days. Protesting against the looming economic problems, they said that if the situation does not improve, they will protest in front of the press club of Quetta, reported Daily Intekhab, the largest circulated daily newspaper of Balochistan.

Addressing a press conference, the leaders said that crores of rupees are spent on advertisements about the shortage of gas and load shedding. The government is using public money to hide its incompetency instead of using it to solve the problems of the public. They demanded that the hike in the electricity tariff should be withdrawn because it badly affects the industry and the production becomes costly, which increased inflation, reported Daily Intekhab.

Meanwhile, the government food warehouse located on Band Road in the Pishin district in Balochistan depicts the possible wheat crisis in the region. Pakistan has been impacted by devastating floods after which tonnes of wheat and other food products have been destroyed, showing the negligence of the government. This occurred at time when the country was already dealing with inflation.

Balochistan province has been facing a flour crisis for over past three weeks, with mill owners blaming the provincial government for failing to procure the required wheat this year, according to local media reports. Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Balochistan chapter representatives said there was a huge gap between the demand and supply which created the crisis, ARY News reported.

“Flour mill owners were being blamed for the crisis, while in reality, the provincial government has imposed an inter-provincial and inter-district ban on the transportation of wheat during the harvesting season,” they added. Notably, Pakistan has increased the prices of wheat and flour by up to 10-20 per cent. In Balochistan, a 20-kg bag of flour was being sold from Rs 2,380 to Rs 2,500. Besides, the skyrocketing prices, the commodity was not available in most shops across the province. (ANI)