PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday warned of food insecurity in the country if the government doesn’t pay attention to the condition of farmers.
Addressing a farmers’ convention in Islamabad, Khan said: “Farmers are given subsidies all over the world and if the agriculture sector is not sustainable, this would put national security in danger.”
“If we don’t pay the right attention to our Kisans Pakistan will be having to face the risk of food security”-@ImranKhanPTI #وجہ_کیا_تھی pic.twitter.com/AYO4xleYSc
— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 13, 2022
The PTI chairman said the present government began raising prices of everyday essentials upon coming into power. He said the country would not move forward if the coalition government did not give subsidies to farmers.
He said the Russia-Ukraine war had hit wheat exports leading to the threat of famine in many countries of the world.
Enumerating the measures his government had taken to improve the yield of crops, Khan said, “We gave a subsidy of Rs132 billion on urea fertiliser which resulted in farmers giving a record production.”
He added that cotton production was increased by 17 per cent, sugarcane by 9.4 per cent, and sugar production by 24 per cent, while a jump was also seen in the production of cereals and potato crops. “Our government tried its best to help farmers.”
Criticising the new PMLN-led coalition government over soaring fuel and electricity prices, Khan said these American slaves could not dare to buy oil on concessional rates from Russia as arch-rival India did.
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“India bought oil from Russia on 40% cheaper rate and reduced the price of petrol and diesel by Rs25 in the country.”
Questioning the incumbent government, he said what has happened in the two months that petrol prices were raised by Rs60 per litre along with an increase in electricity and gas tariff. “The inflation seen in these two months was never witnessed in the last three years.”
Imran Khan said the government was not brought to power for the country’s betterment but to carry out Washington’s agenda, adding that he hoped elections would be held soon.
Blaming the government for abolishing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Khan said the parliament had clipped the organisation’s powers through recent amendments in the accountability law, and the government was trying to appoint its ‘own people’ to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).