Lahore:
Controversy has arisen over the government action being taken against farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Punjab Governor Sardar Salim Hyder Khan has accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government of putting a lot of pressure on the farmers and raiding their houses to forcibly collect electricity bills.
During a meeting with an 80 -member delegation of various farmer organizations at the Governor House in Lahore on Thursday, Governor Khan said that such behavior with farmers is unacceptable. He said that the government is depriving farmers of their livelihood to keep food prices under control in cities, which is completely wrong.
The governor’s statement came to light when reports came out that the government has deployed security forces including Pakistani Rangers to extort up electricity bills in the villages. Many farmers alleged that when they opposed this action, the police lodged an FIR against them.
Taking the issue of farmers seriously, Governor Khan announced to set up a three -member special committee to make the talks between the federal government and the farmers easier. He assured that through this committee, efforts will be made to solve the problems of farmers.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Pakistan Kisan Ittehad (PKI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) South Punjab. He criticized the policies of the government and said that due to rising inflation and neglect of the agricultural sector, the situation of farmers has become very bad.
Representatives said that the prices of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals are continuously increasing, due to which small farmers are getting badly affected. Apart from this, the increase in electricity bills has further increased their problems. He expressed displeasure over the alleged ‘anti -agricultural policies’ policies of the government and demanded reform.
Governor Khan assured the farmers that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is standing with them and will take all possible steps to solve their problems. He said that actions like forced electricity bill recovery and raids against farmers will be taken at a high level so that they can get justice.
Political analysts believe that this case can cause political altercation in the coming days. Governor Khan’s statement can create difficulties for the PML-N government as he himself belongs to PPP. According to analysts, this situation may be a matter of concern for Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
According to political expert Javed Chaudhary, “The governor calling the farmers’ meeting shows that the PPP is now openly criticizing the policies of PML-N. Both parties also have differences regarding water supply and other matters in Sindh. ”
Chaudhary said that the PPP had already made distance from many decisions of the government, and now it can use the issue of farmers as a big political weapon. This will not only weaken the position of PML-N, but the PPP will try to present itself as the voice of the public.
(This news has not been edited by the NewsDeskReport team. It has been published directly from the syndicate feed.)