PoK on the verge of food riots as it grapples with flour shortage

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is on the verge of food riots as large parts of the region, including Bagh and Muzaffarabad, are facing an unprecedented flour shortage with people holding Islamabad and the PoK government squarely responsible for the acute food shortages.

While on one hand, the government supply of subsidised wheat has nearly stopped altogether, the prices of other essentials have skyrocketed on the other.

Stores and grocery shops are running out of kitchen staples. The shortage of wheat flour has led to an increase in the prices of bread and bakery items too.

The desperate situation has triggered chaos and some clashes among people were also seen in the region in the past few days.

The locals blamed the government for the situation.

"We will continue to protest till our demands are met. The scope of this protest can also increase, it can go from one district to another. We can protest in the entire PoK region. If the poor people yearn for bread, we are not responsible for it. It is the responsibility of the government," said a protester in Muzaffarabad.

Some said wheat was the critical component of the PoK people's food basket and depriving them of this staple can have catastrophic consequences.

Locals said this was the latest blow in a series of troubles that has affected their basic needs and their standard of living.

A local trader said, "Essential goods are out of the common man's reach and we are helpless. The government is not helping us. Because of this, we have had to close the hotels completely. We are not getting our supplies fully and like every citizen, we, too, are helpless. Flour and ghee are priced at a premium and instead of grappling with skyrocketing prices, we thought it best to shut the hotels down."

While last year's floods in Pakistan left a massive trail of destruction and had a severe impact on agricultural produce, it's no secret that PoK has always been accorded a stepmotherly treatment by leaders in Islamabad.

When Pakistan grapples with a crisis, its gravity compounds by several folds in the PoK.

People in PoK have been at the receiving end of discrimination for over seven decades and the situation continues to remain so even today.