Shehbaz Sharif blames govt for fertiliser shortage

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA), Shehbaz Sharif, has expressed grave concern over the shortage of urea in the country and ensuing situation farmers are facing.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the opposition leader claimed the fertiliser is being smuggled and sold in black. However, he added, the government is ‘missing’ like every time.

Sharif said that the fallout of the government’s incompetency, ineligibility, and theft is being faced by the masses and farmers.

He demanded the government to stop the smuggling of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea and asked, “Why the government didn’t stop the smuggling of urea if its price has gone high in the global market?”

Shehbaz went on to question why the government didn’t take preemptive measures to prevent the shortage of the commodity.

He said the shortage of urea reflects low agricultural yield in future which would result in numerous new problems. “The country which used to export wheat and sugar is now importing it,” the PML-N leader rued.

He said that a bag of DAP used to sell at Rs2,400 during PML-N’s rule however the farmers cannot even get it in Rs10,000 now.

Sharif said the incumbent government misled the nation about the record cotton production, adding that it originally happened during PML-N’s tenure in 2015-16.

He said the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif gave a historic package to farmers in 2015 along with billions of rupees in aid as compensation for the devastation caused by floods.

Shehbaz also said that the PML-N government distributed Rs32 billion among 1.6 million small landowners which proved a milestone in making them stand on their own feet.

PML-N leader lamented that there is no sympathiser of the masses and farmers today.

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