Farmers arrested as protesters reach Punjab Assembly amid wheat crisis

Amid the ongoing crisis surrounding wheat procurement in the Punjab province, several farmers, including two prominent leaders, have been arrested.

The farmers alliance, Kisan Ittehad, headed by Vice President Sabir Niaz Kombuh, announced a sit-in protest outside the Punjab Assembly today.

The protest comes in response to the Punjab government’s failure to initiate wheat procurement. Farmers from various cities have poured into Lahore. The police have gathered several prison vans in anticipation of the protest.

Water cannons were also deployed outside the Punjab Assembly on Monday.

Central Chairman of the Kisan Ittehad, Khalid Hussain, was set to lead the farmers’ caravan from different routes to the Punjab Assembly, despite the delays caused by the arrests.

Hussain emphasized the necessity of the protest, stating that a large number of farmers from all over Punjab are peacefully joining the demonstration.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has become indifferent to the farmers’ plight and resorted to crackdowns against them.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said that the Punjab government was in touch with the real representatives of farmers.

In a statement issued here, she said that no representative of farmers or their organizations had been arrested across the province. She said, “The Punjab government is protecting the interests of farmers and will do the same in future as well.”

The minister said there were three to four organizations of farmers in the country, adding that some elements in the disguise of farmers just wanted  to achieve their political interests. Azma said that there were some seasonal farmers, who had actually contested elections against the PML-N from opponent parties.

It is unfortunate that a specific party is using its people to politicize the wheat issue, she said, and added that the party was the biggest enemy of farmers.