Islamabad:
Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Safety and Research Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan has declared the recent floods for a national disaster and called on the government to officially appoint affected areas as disaster.
He further called for immediate assistance to victims through Benazir Income Support Program (Bisp).
The Senate Committee met under Senator Ahsan’s Presidency to undergo a wide range of urgent problems with the urgent national food security.
The President of the Rice Exports Association raised the alarm over the sharp decline in basmati exports with reference to interruptions in shipments to the EU countries. Senator Danesh Kumar also criticized restrictive government policies and said, “Policies must support the economy and exporters”.
The committee decided to consult all the most important stakeholders before completing national agricultural food security and security (NAFSA) regulation. Senator Ahsan instructed stakeholders to submit their recommendations before the next session.
Flooding destruction
Officials from the Ministry of Food Safety informed that 2.5 million hectares of agricultural land had been damaged nationwide by the floods.
In Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7% of the agricultural land was severely affected, while KP alone lost 3.5 million acres. Crops hit hardest included rice, sugar cane and corn in Punjab.
By declaring the floods of a national tragedy, Senator Ahsan said: “Heart -bringing floods caused enormous destruction, damaged crops worth millions”.
He reiterated his demand that the government declared affected areas disaster-affected and provides bisp contact assistance immediately.
The committee also discussed inter-province restrictions on wheat supply. Senator Aimal Wali Khan protested a shortage of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said the provincial share was unreasonably detained.
Senator Danesh Kumar repeated the concern for Balochistan and said, “People in Balochistan face the same discrimination. This triggers national resolution.”
Senator Ahsan strongly appealed to maintain Article 151 of the Constitution, which guarantees free trade among provinces. “Trade and trade must flow freely between provinces. These limitations are constitutional and go against national integrity,” he claimed.
Committee instructions
Summary of the discussion issued Senator Ahsan several fixed directions. He ordered the message of the DG DPP dam being issued within 48 hours.
A sub-committee will conduct a thorough investigation into the officers’ investigations, while third-party auditors will be performed by DPP aircraft operations and budget distributions. Rice export problems must be reviewed and the completion of the NAFSA regulation will follow the stakeholder entrance.
