Why farmers protesting if Kissan package was for them? Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

PAT Chairman Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said that those arresting farmers and using force to intimidate them are enemies of agriculture. He said that if a Kissan package has been announced, why are the farmers on the roads? He said that it is the standard conduct of the rulers that they put all those behind bars who speak against them. He said that police has become body guards of the rulers. He strongly criticized the highhanded actions of the government against the farmers. He said that the protest of the farmers is justified and demanded that those incarcerated should be released immediately. He said that the PAT workers have been advised to take part in the protest of the farmers.

Dr Qadri expressed these views while addressing the office bearers of PAT Kissan Wing yesterday. He said that it is for the first time in the country’s history that our agricultural output showed a negative trend in 2016, adding that even a cotton-exporting country like Pakistan had to import cotton to meet its domestic needs. He reminded that two times it happened in 1991 and 2016 was during the government of the Sharif brothers. He said that if the farmers stop growing wheat, Pakistan’s import bill will exceed that of oil. He said that even today fertilizers are costlier than anywhere in the world and all talk of provision of subsidies is merely an eyewash. He said that the rulers who import potatoes and tomatoes from India give precedence to their business interests over the country’s.

The PAT Chairman said that as long as our farmers stand on their feet, no power of the world can damage Pakistan economically. He said that the farmers are not only fulfilling the domestic food requirements of 190 million Pakistanis but their profession has also become closely interlinked with national security. He said that at a time when India is threatening to shut down the supply of water, the farmers are busy agitating over the excesses of the government. He said that the children of growers are starving whereas those of the industrialists and big business are going to the big schools. He asked the farmers not to consider themselves alone, adding that the PAT supports their just cause.