Amidst severe food shortage, protests and clashes over the distribution of free wheat flour, it has been reported that at least 11 people were killed in the Punjab province of Pakistan as they were trying to collect the free flour distributed by the government-run outlet.
According to reports, several people went to government distribution centres after Pakistan’s cash-strapped government launched a free flour programme for the poor, particularly in Punjab province, to combat the country’s surging inflation.
Tuesday’s stampedes at free flour distribution sites in Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, and Okara districts resulted in the deaths of two elderly women and a man while 60 others suffered injuries. Stampede-related fatalities were also recorded from Fasailabad, Jehanian, and Multan.
Police have been accused of spreading mayhem at the centres by manhandling and baton-charging people who were waiting in long queues, according to reports in Pakistani media.
To combat crowding and inconvenience for residents, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared on Wednesday that free flour centres would open at 6:00 am across the province.
Imran Khan, a former prime minister who has criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz administration, has also slammed this mishandling. Khan blamed the killings of innocent people on both Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, and Naqvi, the interim chief minister of Punjab.
It is notable that Pakistan is witnessing violent protests which often lead to fatalities due to its persistent economic turmoil and inflation reaching a nearly 50-year high. Political instability has further added to the festering woes of our hostile neighbour.