• Ahsan Iqbal irked by ‘indifference’ of relevant ministers, Punjab and Sindh representatives
• Minister underscores limited window to support farmers; forms three task forces
• KP minister urges committee to formulate aid package proportionate to provincial NFC shares
• Punjab announces tax break for flood-hit areas, will start handing out compensation cheques to survivors from today
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: A high-powered cabinet committee on agriculture, climate change and flood emergencies on Monday put out in the open a nonchalant approach of the federal ministers and provincial governments towards flood-loss assessment ahead of a support package by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expected by the end of this month.
At the start of the first meeting of the cabinet forum, committee convener Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal was irked by the absence of federal ministers for finance, water resources, housing, climate change and power and their subordinates from the meeting.
Similarly, he also took exception to the lack of representation from Punjab and Sindh, saying he would report this non-serious attitude on such a grave issue to the prime minister.
Subsequently, the water, climate, power, and housing ministers showed up at the meeting. Sindh was apparently conspicuous by its absence, coinciding with PPP’s walkout from the National Assembly due to a political rift with the PML-N, while flood-ravaged Punjab was represented by a special secretary.
Balochistan’s minister for agriculture was present along with KP’s ministers for agriculture and finance, whose preparedness and contribution were appreciated by Mr Iqbal.
The planning minister deplored that the Rabi season was now starting that offered a window of no more than two weeks for the government to support the flood-affected farmers and lead them towards a new crop with greater financial value. Instead, he suggested the use of canola, priced around $700 per tonne in the international market, compared to $250-300 per tonne for wheat.
KP’s agriculture minister reported that his province was already at the cusp of an olive revolution with the plantation over around 700,000 acres, potentially sufficient to meet all of Pakistan’s requirement within a period of 3-4 years.
The province had also been fortunate to have successful plantation of saffron to follow soon. In the short term, he reported, the KP government was providing free seeds and fertilisers from its own resources and was in touch with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank for a comprehensive support package for rain- and flood-affected people.
KP’s Finance Minister Muzammil Aslam proposed that the PM’s package for flood-affected people should not be Punjab and Sindh centric in the name and cost of smaller provinces.
He demanded that it should be proportionate to provincial National Finance Commission (NFC) shares so that gas subsidy for fertilisers was not consumed only in Punjab or for political reasons in Sindh, given the fact that KP ultimately also faced the difficult situation from a ban on the wheat trade. The sources said the planning minister acknowledged that KP’s stance over the past 18 months at all national forums had been from a national perspective and above provincial and political angles.
