Opp, Centre continue to bicker over wheat crisis Shahbaz demands inquiry, PTI leaders blame Sindh govt for shortage.

Islamabad/ Karachi -- As wheat prices remained exorbitantly high across the country on Sunday, the opposition and centre continued to bicker over who was to blame for the fast declining wheat reserves in the country.

While the PTI lays the blame squarely on the Sindh government, citing untimely purchasing and a subsequent shortage in supply to the flour mills, the Sindh government took exception to being the target of 'a dirty blame game' and in turn held the prime minister responsible.

Meanwhile, the PPP and PML-N alleged that despite a shortage in reserves of wheat, the commodity had been exported. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif demanded an inquiry to determine who had authorised the move.

Furthermore, the nanbais of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have announced that they will go on a strike today (Monday) against the government, as their various associations in Punjab have given a five-day ultimatum to the government asking it to provide them flour at the previous rate or allow them to raise the prices of naan and roti.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the shortage of wheat in Sindh is due to the negligence of the provincial government, not the federal government. Addressing a press conference in Sialkot on Sunday, Awan said: 'After the Sindh government's negligence in not buying flour in a timely manner, 400,000 tonnes of wheat were given to the province from the federal government's strategic reserves on the directives of the prime minister.'

'From the total wheat allocated, the Sindh government has only taken 100,000 tonnes of wheat. This goes to show that the shortage of wheat in Sindh, and the subsequent increase in the price of the commodity, is due to an issue in the supply. 'The Sindh government has failed to ensure that the wheat is supplied to mills in the province. Due to this, flour mills are not working at full capacity and there has been a sharp increase in flour prices.' She urged the Sindh government to expedite the supply chain and provide flour to the mills so that prices can be reduced.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar said that the Sindh government had failed to procure even a single grain of...