Peshawar HC seeks report on flour price hike

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday reproached the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) food minister and secretary over skyrocketing prices of wheat flour in the province.

Justice Qasier Rasheed directed the food department to submit a detailed report in this regard.

The KP food minister and secretary as well as the Peshawar deputy commissioner appeared in court in response to its summons. The Advocate General (AG) was also in attendance.

During the hearing, Justice Rasheed asked them as to what the government has been doing to control rising prices of wheat flour. He observed that the launch of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) didn’t resolve issues facing people.

The KP minister told the court that the issue of flour price hike would soon be resolved as the cabinet has approved importing wheat. The hearing of the case was adjourned until September 15.

On Aug 24, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided to import 150,000 tonnes of wheat at a cost of Rs8.5 billion to address the shortage of flour in the province. The decision was taken in a meeting of the provincial cabinet held in Peshawar with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair.

The cabinet also approved disbursing Rs3 billion to flour mills to ensure the provision of cheap flour to the public.