In response to the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee’s request, farmers organized protest gatherings in 30 districts across the country. They demanded that the government begin buying wheat from them and arrest those responsible for the wheat scandal.
In Punjab, farmers protested in many cities including Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Jhang, Pakpattan, Chiniot, Kasur, Khanewal, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Burewala, Chishtian, and Jampur.
In Sindh, farmers held protests in Karachi, Shikarpur, Nawabshah, Qamber Shahdadkot, Nowshehru Feroze, Mirpurkhas, Dadu, Sanghar, and Shahpur Chakar. Protests also took place in Quetta and Jhal Magsi in Balochistan, and in Peshawar and Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In Lahore, many farmers, including men, women, and youth, gathered at Charing Cross on The Mall. They demanded that the Punjab government should start buying wheat from them immediately.
During the protest, the general secretary of PKRC, Farooq Tariq, presented the farmers’ demands. These demands included starting to buy grain from farmers right away, arresting those who were involved in importing wheat before the harvest season, regulating the market to ensure fair prices for all produce, cancelling the policy of allowing private companies to import grain, setting a minimum price for all crops, rejecting the policies of the International Monetary Fund that are harmful to farmers, compensating farmers affected by the wheat scandal, and taking strict action against those who lend money to small farmers with interest.
Mehr Mohammad Buta, a small farmer from Sheikhupura, said that because the government didn’t buy wheat from them, the wheat market crashed. This left farmers unable to plant their next crops.
The demonstration in Lahore was addressed by several people including Saima Zaa, Rifat Maqsood, Qamar Abbas, Zaigham Abbas, Hasnain Jameel, and Ali Abdullah. There was a large police presence at the protest.
