Islamabad, Pakistan (CU)_ The government has been requested to eliminate all tariffs on food in order to make them more accessible and affordable to the poorest members of society. During a press conference with the media, Tehreek-i-Istaqlal president Rehmat Khan Wardag said, “The government will have to increase oil prices as it cannot sustain the burden for too long to subsidize petroleum products. But, while increasing oil prices, it should take steps to protect the food sector from its impact”.
Rehmat Khan urged that the government should eliminate taxes on food and increase worker pay, rather than providing financial incentives to industrialists, as the former administration did. According to him, another measure required to stabilize food prices was to crack down on agricultural commodity smuggling across international boundaries.
Rehmat Khan also stated that the revolutionary steps for agriculture growth would result in food self-sufficiency, for which a fixed electricity charge for tube wells should be imposed to encourage farmers to work more on their crops. He asserted that the abundance of agricultural output will enable the provision of inexpensive food to the public.
Rehmat Khan urged the government to quickly set a fair price for wheat, cotton, and sugarcane in order to benefit farmers and to prohibit the role of intermediaries, which he claimed resulted in economic abuse of farmers and consumers alike. He stated that the government should provide farmers with high-quality seeds and affordable fertilizer and insecticides to boost agricultural productivity. He also noted that high-yielding seeds will boost farmers’ earnings and motivate them to work more. He also asked that canals be cleaned twice a year and emphasized the need for steps to minimize canal water loss and unequal distribution of canal water.
