Flour crisis looms in twin cities as Punjab halts wheat supply | The Express Tribune

Serious flour crisis has gripped Rawalpindi and Islamabad following the Punjab Food Department’s ban on wheat supply to flour mills in the twin cities. The Flour Mills Association, following the suspension of wheat supply, has announced it will stop flour supply to both cities starting from Monday.

All existing orders for flour, fine flour (maida), and wheat by local dealers, tandoor owners, and grocery stores have been cancelled, leading to an emerging shortage in the markets since Friday night. A meeting of the Rawalpindi Flour Mills Association, chaired by Patron-in-Chief Sheikh Tariq Sadiq, was held to discuss the issue.

Participants expressed concern over the Punjab government’s decision to stop issuing wheat supply permits to Rawalpindi and Islamabad-based mills. They noted that the twin cities are non-wheat-producing regions and rely entirely on supplies from Punjab’s wheat-producing districts.

The association warned, if the issuance of wheat permits is not resumed immediately, the supply of flour will continue to remain suspended, potentially worsening the shortage across Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Officials urged the Punjab Food Department to reconsider its decision, warning that continued disruption of wheat supply could escalate into a full-blown food crisis in the capital region.

Last month, the Pakistan Naanbai Association had expressed concern over the doubling of flour, fine flour, and refined wheat prices during the past 18 months, as well as the persistent sealing of tandoors, the imposition of fines ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs100,000, and the closure of bakeries for up to five days.

The central president of the Naanbai Association, Shafiq Qureshi, said, at the time of the formation of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif government and the Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz administration in Punjab, a 79-kilogram sack of red flour cost Rs5,500, whereas the price has now surged to Rs11,000. Likewise, a bag of fine flour, previously priced at Rs6,200, now sells for Rs12,600.

“This system of costly flour and cheap bread can no longer be sustained,” he said. “The prime minister once vowed to sell his own clothes to provide affordable flour — yet now, it is the tandoor operators and bakers who are being stripped bare. Since the establishment of the new Price Enforcement Force, we have been subjected to relentless oppression.”

According to Qureshi, since October 1, as many as 38 tandoors have been demolished without justification, 79 have been sealed for five days, and more than 100 owners have been slapped with fines ranging from Rs25,000 to Rs50,000. “We will not remain silent any longer,” he declared.

He added that the government and district administration have utterly failed to regulate flour prices, and that their frustration and administrative failure are being taken out on tandoor owners and bakers through demolitions, fines, and arbitrary closures. The association has submitted a formal requisition to the deputy commissioner, calling for an immediate meeting of the Price Control Committee to adjust roti prices in line with the prevailing flour rates.