LAHORE: The federal government has been instructed by a division bench of the Lahore High Court, presided over by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, to reply to a suit contesting the wheat price policy and requesting a new pricing structure by May 14.
This action is in response to a civil miscellaneous application that was filed concurrently with the main petition and expresses concerns regarding the national economy and farmers’ effects of the current wheat pricing structure.
The petitioner, Bilal Ahmad, made claims of exploitation and constitutional violations in his arguments against the government’s present wheat price policy.
Ahmad argued that despite having adequate reserves, the federal government’s needless import of wheat has resulted in large losses for the exchequer.
He estimates that the government has lost one billion rupees as a result of its activities.
He contends that farmers are placed in a perilous financial situation because the cost of cultivation per acre is significantly higher than the government’s offered earnings.
Ahmad claims that since millions of farmers’ livelihoods are in jeopardy, immediate action is required to address the issue and guarantee their financial security.
Ahmad further drew attention to discrepancies in the government’s pricing policies and procurement targets, accusing arbitrary selection and exploitation.
He maintained that because the existing policy does not take rising input costs and inflation rates into account, farmers are left open to financial exploitation by intermediaries and other players in the agricultural supply chain.
Ahmad contends that the wheat policy breaches multiple provisions of the Constitution, including those that deal with equality, fundamental rights, and economic fairness, in light of these worries.
He said that the policy amounts to discrimination and exploitation because it does not provide farmers with the benefits of inflation, particularly in light of growing input costs.
