Pakistan wheat crisis escalates as people cry, fight over subsidised flour bags in grim videos

Pakistan’s ongoing wheat crisis led to a grim picture showing people fighting and crying over bags of flour. A provoking video shows a large number of people in Sindh fighting over subsidized bags of flour as the country grapples with a crushing economic and food crisis for months.

A video from Sindh shows the desperation on people’s faces. A bag of flour costs Rs 1,500 per kg in Islamabad and Peshawar and locals spend hours to get their hands on a bag of subsidized wheat that quickly runs out of stock.

A man is seen fallen on the road struggling to hold on to a bag of flour as someone else tries of take it off of him. He wails out in agony as the bag is being taken away by two others.

Situation in #Pakistan
Food crisis in Neuclear Power People r fighting for 10 kg bag of flour pic.twitter.com/J6BGHlcFoe

— Fakhar Yousafzai (@fakharzai7) January 10, 2023

The 15kg flour bag is being sold for Rs 2,050 now. So far, the price of a 15kg flour bag has seen a rise of Rs 300 in just two weeks.

Another shocking video shows people chasing the subsidized consignment flour truck as it halts. With money in their hands, a growing crowd pleads to the men on the truck to give them a bag as the workers say to “shut the door” and the stock was apparently over.

Dejected, many try to still try their luck while some get back on their mopeds.

“…Gate…”

#PakistanEconomy #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/jgitifBIZR

— Jyot Jeet (@activistjyot) January 10, 2023

A stampede-like situation has been reported from places like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan as people fought over the limited supply of flour. Scenes show one bag with three takers who try to establish ownership over the grain even as the situation slowly turns violent.

The crisis is attributed to the mismanagement between the food department and flour mills. Balochistan's Minister for Food Zamarak Achakzai has said the crisis could worsen and added that in several areas wheat stocks have completely run out.

Massive queues show people lining up to buy government subsidised flour. Thousands of underprivileged people turn up everyday to stand in queues until stocks run out.

The Pakistan government is importing a total of 75 lakh tonnes of wheat, including from Russia, to fight the crisis. The country is in a deep economic crisis as a political crisis simmered for years even as inflation reached peaks and climate change, floods, and an energy crisis doubled the pressure – the victims of which are just citizens.