The interim government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has reached out to the Punjab administration, requesting the immediate lifting of the ban on flour deliveries and the removal of all other barriers.
The Ramadan package, worth Rs 19.77 billion, has also begun to be implemented by the interim government in order to assist the 36.8 million registered beneficiaries of the province’s Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
In addition to the 1,600 utility stores that can provide flour to cardholders, over 7,600 sale points have been established, and approximately 5.7 million households will receive 30 kg of flour each.
Fazl Elahi, the minister of food and irrigation, and Barrister Feroze Jamal Kakakhel, the minister of information, revealed at a press conference at the food department that the government had purchased wheat and given Rs35 billion in subsidies to PASCO.
The ministers emphasised the government’s commitment to offering free rations during Ramazan and expressed their concern about the financial challenges people are facing as a result of poverty and floods.
According to the food minister, 1.3 million tonnes of wheat were produced this year, and the government started a free rationing programme. The provision of flour has temporarily been halted, but after Ramazan, subsidised flour supply will resume.
Hoarders and people who engage in price gouging were advised to change their behaviour, while philanthropists were urged to help the less fortunate.
The food secretary stated that flour would be provided on BISP cards, and that each eligible family would need to present their original identity card. Unregistered individuals could apply for and obtain BISP registration within 24 hours.
The targeted nature of the subsidy and the fact that each household would only receive it once under strict supervision to avoid any problems were stressed by the secretary. The BISP data has been made available by the federal government and connected to Utility Stores.
Each month, recipients will receive three 10kg bags of flour. While K-P purchases 75% of its wheat from Punjab and other places, it also produces 25% of it.
Wheat flour shortages were reported last month, which prompted Muhammad Ali Shah, the caretaker minister for communications and works (C&W), to respond to grievances about flour distribution in the Malakand Division.
