By India Today Web Desk: Amid the deepening food crisis in Pakistan, people were recently seen chasing a wheat truck on foot and on bikes, risking their lives to get a bag of wheat.
Sharing the video on Twitter, Professor Sajjad Raja, chairman of National Equality Party Jammu Kashmir Gilgit Baltistan and Ladakh (JKGBL), wrote, “This is not a motorcycle rally, but people in Pakistan are chasing a truck loaded with flour, in the hope that they will buy just one packet of flour. Do we have any future in Pakistan? This video is just a glimpse of what is happening in Pakistan.”
In the video, people are seen chasing a truck carrying sacks of flour. One of the men comes closer to the wheat truck, shows money, and asks for a packet of flour.
The soaring flour prices is one of the crises that Pakistan faces as it reels under the heft of a crumbling economy. A 15kg flour bag is being sold for Rs 2,050, after an increase of Rs 150. So far, the price of a 15kg flour bag has seen a rise of Rs 300 in just two weeks. Whereas, in the open market, the prices remain unchanged, reported ARY News.
The government has also failed to provide its people with basic amenities, which has compelled the citizens to use plastic bags to fulfill their LPG (cooking gas) needs.Appalling as it may sound, Pakistanis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are using plastic bags to store LPG as a dip in the stock of cooking gas cylinders has forced the vendors to cut short the supply.
This isn’t a motorcycle rally, ppl in #Pakistan are desperately chasing a truck carrying wheat flour, hoping to buy just 1 bag. Ppl of #JammuAndKashmir should open their eyes. Lucky not to be #Pakistani & still free to take decision about our future. Do we have any future with🇵🇰? pic.twitter.com/xOywDwKoiP
— Professor Sajjad Raja (@NEP_JKGBL) January 14, 2023
Cash-strapped Pakistan is desperately seeking help. Successive governments have failed to shore up multilateral or bilateral aid to meet foreign payments.
With extremely high inflation, dangerously low foreign exchange reserves, and global lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) refusing to disperse further funds, Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits.Pakistan’s inflation rate reached 24.5 per cent in December last year due to a massive spike in the prices of food products.
Wheat – an essential staple food of an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis – is now getting out of reach for many Pakistanis. Its prices increased over 57% while the wheat flour prices also increased increased by 41%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.