ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of food insecurity in the country if the government does not give subsidies to farmers.
Addressing a farmer’s convention in Islamabad on Monday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman said that farmers were given subsidies all over the world, and if the agriculture sector was not sustainable, this would put national security in danger.
The former prime minister said that the country cannot move forward if farmers are ignored. “This will lead to food insecurity in the country,” he added.
Commenting on the rising inflation, the ex-premier said that the farmers showed a record production during the PTI government’s tenure as it had provided subsidies to them. “Cotton production increased by 17%, sugarcane by 9.4%, and sugar production by 24% during the PTI’s tenure,” Khan added.
He said that the prices of petrol, electricity, and ghee had increased during the incumbent government’s tenure.
Talking about his government’s efforts to provide ease to the farmers, the PTI chairman said his government provided an Rs132 billion subsidy on urea fertilizer. “Our government tried its best to help farmers,” he maintained.
Khan accused the ruling PML-N and Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) of working in cahoots to rig the next general elections.
Hinted at the possibility of snap polls he said that he is expecting that the elections would be held soon.
Speaking about the prevailing economic crisis, the former prime minister reiterated his allegations that incumbent rulers were installed into power through the US-backed regime change conspiracy which he said cannot dare to buy oil from Russia at discounted rates.
He also lashed out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying that he had become the in charge of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and appointed his loyalist to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to “close down” his corruption cases.
Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Imran said the war has sparked fears of famine in the country due to a shortage of wheat.
“Pakistan is facing a major challenge of food security. The Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted the wheat supply and caused an increase in its price. The country can never proposer until pay attention to the agriculture sector,” he added.
