The central chairman of Kisan Ittehad Pakistan, Khalid Hussain Batth, has urged the government to immediately release financial aid for farmers devastated by recent floods. He demanded that all taxes and dues imposed on affected farmers be waived, while subsidies on fertilizers and seeds should be introduced to help them prepare for the next crop cycle.
Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad alongside the union’s president, Mian Umair Masood, Batth said Pakistan’s farmers have lost standing crops and homes to unprecedented rains and floods, yet instead of relief, the government has launched crackdowns, including raids and FIRs. “We strongly oppose these actions,” he stressed.
He added that scandals in wheat, sugar and cotton had already pushed growers to the brink, while the government’s failure to purchase wheat caused farmers losses worth trillions. The shortage has now triggered a sharp rise in flour prices, with wheat rates increasing by Rs1,000 in just one week.
Batth warned that Pakistan’s agriculture — the backbone of the economy — cannot survive without immediate reforms. He criticized corrupt politicians and bureaucracy for blocking the construction of major dams, leaving farmers at the mercy of droughts in one season and floods in another.
Umair Masood said farmers lack money to sow the next crop because the official wheat support price is set below production cost, calling it an “injustice” that forces farmers deeper into crisis. He announced that the union will not only stage protests but also move the courts for justice.
