PESHAWAR:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Monday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to lift what he termed “unconstitutional restrictions” on the inter-provincial movement of wheat to the province, warning that the curbs were endangering food security and fuelling price distortions.
In a post on social media platform X, the governor said he had written to the premier, urging his “immediate intervention to lift the unconstitutional restrictions” on wheat transportation to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Such limitations not only affect the province’s food security but also go against the spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in our Constitution,” he said, expressing confidence that the issue would be resolved “under the prime minister’s leadership”.
In the letter he shared on X, the governor described the restrictions as a “serious concern”, pointing out that K-P was a “wheat-deficient province and depends substantially on inter-provincial inflows to meet its essential food requirements”.
He said that the restrictions violated Article 151 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse among the provinces.
“Any disruption in supply risks creating artificial shortages, price escalation and public hardship,” the letter stated. It added that the restrictions were “unintentionally encouraging illegal and informal transportation of wheat through alternate means and routes, resulting in uncontrollable supply distortions in the open market”.
“This diversion is causing rapid escalation in wheat and flour prices, directly burdening the general public and potentially triggering unwarranted public resentment,” Kundi cautioned.
He requested the prime minister’s “kind and immediate intervention in this matter and direction to the concerned authorities” to withdraw the restrictions and ensure the “uninterrupted and legally protected movement of wheat” into the province.
“I remain confident that, under your leadership, the constitutional rights of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be safeguarded effectively and without delay,” he said. The latest development comes amid simmering tensions between provinces over wheat transport controls, with Punjab under fire from both K-P and Sindh for allegedly throttling the flow of wheat and flour across provincial borders.
However, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has repeatedly dismissed the accusations, maintaining that there is “no ban on the inter-provincial movement of wheat” and that “ongoing propaganda in this regard is baseless and contrary to facts”.
In the wake of recent floods, the Punjab government had tightened its grip on wheat and flour movement through a permit-based system meant to contain local price hikes, a move that K-P denounced as flour prices soared and shortages deepened. With input from News Desk
