Atta Crisis in Pakistan
By Naveed Khan
San Jose, CA
This is a rebuttal to Riaz Haq's explanation on the scarcity of atta in Pakistan and its skyrocketing prices that have subjected common people to starvation. There is now doubt that world food prices have risen because of increased demand. Let us set the record straight and analyze this phenomenon based on facts.
Pakistan's wheat harvest season last year delivered all time record wheat crop and the government even allowed export of wheat as it was considered a surplus commodity.
Now respected Riaz Haq's letter in defense of an inept and corrupt government is astonishing and is meant to fool the people. If we had the record crop, why all of a sudden in December-January there is acute shortage. If one were to even remotely accept Riaz Sahib’s explanation then India, our neighbor about 7x in Pakistan's population, has not seen such a crisis. There is no shortage of atta in India, or for that matter, other countries of the Asian continent.
The real reason for the shortage is that first the government, in order to please its cronies, allowed the export of precious wheat and then there is uncontrolled smuggling of atta done with the connivance of the government. Same atta fetches 40% more price in central Asia and this government's supporters, mostly PML-Q leaders, own atta mills in Pakistan.
I can offer one explanation and that is related to smuggling to Central Asian countries with the full knowledge and connivance of the government functionaries and PML-Q leadership that owns most of the atta mills.
Defending this corrupt, inept and mafia style government has become a habit of some people whether it is justified or not. Besides atta, there is an acute shortage of Eelectricity, natural gas and even water in many parts of the country. President Musharraf/PML-Q/MQM government should be ashamed of its record that after nine years of total power, a common man is unable to even obtain and afford the staple food. This is unprecedented in Pakistan's history. An area that was once the food basket for entire India has been turned into a country facing scarcity of food and other essential items because of the corruption and greed of the ruling mafia.
