Pakistan is undergoing a substantial economic crisis due to the increasing inflation and rising cost of living. Several people in the country struggle to afford food for their homes. In the auspicious month of Ramadan, the government of Pakistan announced that they would distribute bags of flour to families struggling with low income. This gesture of the government of Pakistan aims to lift the burden on families.
However, the government’s gesture resulted in a disastrous stampede in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of the country. The incident resulted in the death of an individual in Charsadda. Several other individuals got injured in Swabi and Kohat. Meanwhile, another incident in Bannu resulted in the death of another man.
Reportedly, the wall of the flour mill collapsed in the area before the flour distribution. The situation is similar to the initial period of the crisis when the country was facing an acute grain shortage in the area. Meanwhile, the authorities also recorded another potentially fatal incident in the Tehsil of southern Punjab. At least five women sustained injuries in a stampede at a free flour distribution point.
The government of Pakistan has been dealing with a flour crisis for the last few months. In January, the mill operators in the country stopped production due to a shortage of supplies. The government alleged that the mill owners hoarded grain to increase commodity prices.
The government has been observing Incidents of injuries and deaths in stampede-like situations brought on by commodity prices. Earlier in the year, one man got killed during a stampede at the sale point of subsidized flour in Mirpurkhas. The public is dealing with the brunt of the issue between the authorities and the mill owners.
The government suspects that the mill owners are hoarding the subsidized wheat supplies. The people have to risk their lives to access something as basic as wheat. Pakistan enjoyed self-sufficiency in the field of agriculture. They exported grains to other countries as well. However, the government’s mismanagement led to the country’s severe economic crisis.
