QUETTA: Kissan Ittehad Chairman Khalid Hussain Bath has announced that farmers will march from Quetta towards Islamabad tomorrow over their demands, ARY News reported.
Speaking to the media, Khalid Hussain Bath said they would leave from Quetta Press Club at 3pm tomorrow for their legitimate demands.
He said representatives of Kissan Ittehad from 20 districts had already reached Quetta to participate in the protest.
“We are only talking about resolving farmers’ problems. If our demands are accepted, we will not protest,” he said.
Khalid Hussain Bath said their first and biggest demand was the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
He said the Punjab government had formed a committee regarding wheat cultivation but had not taken any practical steps so far.
He also alleged that sugar mill owners were not making payments to farmers, while farmers in Quetta were not getting fertiliser.
The Kissan Ittehad chairman said farmers from all four provinces would join the protest. He blamed what he called flawed policies of Maryam Nawaz for the poor condition of agriculture in all four provinces.
He said the farmers would travel from Quetta to Sukkur before moving towards Punjab and then proceed to Islamabad.
“Our demand for the resignation of Maryam Nawaz is bigger than all other demands,” he said.
Khalid Hussain Bath said the farmers were heading to Islamabad for a peaceful protest. He claimed that their workers had been arrested in Punjab.
He warned that when a large number of farmers arrived from Quetta, the authorities would not be able to stop them.
He further claimed that drinking water was unavailable in several areas of Punjab and flour was also not readily available.
“We are coming out for our rights. We will do whatever is required for this,” Khalid Hussain Bath said.
