&w=3840&q=100)
MSP scrapped, Indus Water Treaty paused: How Pak farmers are real losers of Islamabad's terror policy
Pakistan's long-standing policy of funding, supporting terrorism against its rivals in the region is now coming back to haunt its food security read more
Farmers in Pakistan's largest Punjab province are livid at the government. The reason? The cash-strapped Pakistan government has scrapped the long-standing policy of setting a minimum support price for wheat purchase, leading to a crash in prices. This has angered the farmers as they aren't getting a fair price for their wheat crop. Now, they're forced to sell to private buyers at lower rates.
The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI), which represents many farmers, warned that if this doesn't change, many may stop growing wheat next year, possibly leading to food shortages.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
All in all, decisions made by Islamabad out of economic compulsions may lead to food crisis in the country, which reflects a deepening crisis in Pakistan's agricultural sector.
The problem started last year when the government suddenly pulled out of the wheat market. This was part of efforts to meet conditions under the IMF programme. But the move was unplanned and poorly managed, leaving farmers unprepared.
But problems for Pakistani farmers don't end there. The growing tensions with India in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 26 people, forced New Delhi to pull the plug on the Indus Water Treaty.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWt) is a deal brokered by the World Bank between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960. Signed in Karachi by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan, it determines the distribution of the waters of the Indus and its tributaries — Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab and Kabul.
Now, this move by India came as another significant blow for the farmers.
According to experts, the rivers that fall under the purview of the IWT are vital to Pakistan for its agricultural purposes. In fact, data reveals that Pakistan relies on the Indus River and its tributaries for approximately 80 per cent of its irrigated agriculture, which contributes 21 per cent to its GDP and supports 45 per cent of its workforce.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
By pausing the IWT, India is effectively halting the flow of 39 billion cubic metres of water annually, threatening the neighbouring country's water availability. A disruption in the water supply, especially in the summer months, will not only affect Pakistan's agriculture but also have an effect on its trade, employment and food prices.
It's a double whammy for Pakistani farmers. On the one hand, they feel the heat of Pakistan's economic crisis; on the other, of security crisis. Pakistan's long-standing policy of funding, supporting terrorism against its rivals in the region is now coming back to haunt its food security.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
SC junks Pakistani Christian's plea for citizenship ignoring CAA cut-off
Supreme Court NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain the plea of a Goa-born Pakistani Catholic man, who sought a direction to the Centre to allow him citizenship under Citizenship Amendment Act , 2019 citing religious persecution in Pakistan even though he arrived in India six years after the Jan 2014 cutoff date. Jude Mendes, who was born in Goa to a Pakistani national in 1987 but completed his studies at Karachi in Pakistan, arrived in India in 2016 on a long-term visa which has been extended till June this year and even got his Aadhaar card made in 2020. He married an Indian woman in February this year. Three days after the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists by Pak-backed terrorists, India on April 25 cancelled all kinds of visas given to Pakistani nationals. However, long term visas, which Mendes has, have not been revoked. Mendes' visa expires on June 20. Advocate Raghav Awasthi told a partial working day bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan that "the Petitioner is born in India and is a Roman Catholic which being a minority community is heavily persecuted in Pakistan. He cannot travel to Pakistan to renew his passport which is expiring on 20.06.2025 due to the threat to his life and that therefore, he ought to be granted extension of his long-term visa. " The petitioner said in the event of his deportation to Pakistan, the petitioner who was born in India and now lawfully married to an Indian citizen, would face imminent threat to his life because of extreme religious persecution in Pakistan. At present he works as a chef in Goa. But the bench said that he would have to move the Bombay HC for the relief he is seeking. The petitioner's lawyer withdrew the plea to move the HC. Under CAA, India had resolved to grant citizenship to those individuals from minority communities who have been persecuted in neighbouring countries on the ground of religion. However, the law stipulated that they should have entered India prior to Jan 1, 2014.
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Setback for India: Jairam Ramesh after US general praises Pakistan's terror fight
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the Indian government on Wednesday over recent remarks by a top United States military official praising Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts. Taking to X, Ramesh wrote, 'Recently, the head of the US Central Command called Pakistan a 'great partner in the counter-terrorism campaign'. What will our Prime Minister and his ovation say to this? Is this not a diplomatic setback for India?'advertisementHis statement followed US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla's testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, where the outgoing commander described Pakistan as a 'phenomenal partner' in counter-terrorism comments came at a time when India had been actively campaigning to expose Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism, particularly after the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April. During the hearing, General Kurilla urged Washington not to adopt a zero-sum approach in South Asia, stating that the US must maintain strategic relations with both India and Pakistan."We need to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I do not believe it is a binary switch that we can't have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India,' he said. 'We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has.'advertisementKurilla's remarks came even as India stepped up diplomatic efforts to hold Pakistan accountable for its alleged role in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people on April 22. In response, India carried out precision air strikes on terror infrastructure across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May military escalation ended on May 10 after the Directors General of Military Operations from both countries reached an officials, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, had reiterated that India would not accept any equivalence between victims of terrorism and the perpetrators. New Delhi also expressed concern over multiple international responses that appeared to hyphenate India and Pakistan during the brief military Kurilla, who is expected to retire later this summer, also spoke about Pakistan's role in combatting the Islamic State's regional affiliate, ISIS-Khorasan, also known as IS-KP. He acknowledged efforts by the Pakistani military and army chief General Asim Munir in countering the terror Watch
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
Haryana: Hisar Court rejects bail plea of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra
Hisar (Haryana) [India], June 11 (ANI): A court in Haryana's Hisar, on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. Jyoti's lawyer, Advocate Kumar Mukesh said, 'Her bail plea was filed before JMFC Sunil Kumar's court and a reply from Police was sought today. After the reply from Police, I argued in the evening, the Court rejected her bail plea this evening.' Earlier on Monday, a court in Hisar extended the judicial custody of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra by 14 days. According to her lawyer, Kumar Mukesh, the court had previously sent Malhotra to judicial custody on May 26, which concluded on June 9. Malhotra appeared before the court of Sunil Kumar on June 9, and the next hearing has been scheduled for June 23. Malhotra will appear in court again on that date. Kumar Mukesh said, 'The last hearing took place on 26th May, during which the court of Sunil Kumar had sent Jyoti Malhotra to 14 days of judicial custody, which concluded today, 9th June. She appeared again before the same court today, and now the next hearing has been scheduled for 23rd June. Jyoti Malhotra will appear in court again on that date.' He said that the police are analysing Jyoti's bank account and the data recovered from the phone and laptop. He said that the podcast of Jyoti Malhotra with a Pakistani YouTuber that has surfaced talks about brotherhood only. Earlier on May 29, the lawyer said that Jyoti has made videos for her YouTube channel at different places and has also gone abroad with a visa. On May 26, the court sent Jyoti to judicial custody for fourteen days. Jyoti allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information. During the preliminary investigation, the woman told the police that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. (ANI)
