Rawalpindi Flour Crisis Averted as Mills End Strike
Flour supplies are flowing again across Rawalpindi Division after the Pakistan Flour Mills Association called off its strike, ending the Rawalpindi flour crisis that had threatened supplies across the region. The settlement followed talks between the association and the Punjab Food Department, in which officials agreed to suspend the staff behind the assault on a Taxila mill owner and withdraw a case registered against him.
Director General Food Punjab Saif Anwar Jappa travelled from Lahore to Rawalpindi as the strike and the suspension of supplies worsened the situation. On arrival, he invited the association for talks at the Food Department’s office in Islamabad, and the millers accepted at once.
How the Rawalpindi flour crisis was settled
A delegation of the association’s Punjab chapter, led by Divisional President Raza Ahmed Shah, met the DG Food. The delegation included former Punjab chairman Riazullah Khan, Senior Vice Chairman Punjab Atif Nadeem Mirza, and senior millers Tariq Farooq Sethi, Sheikh Yaser Zia Ahmed, Sheikh Ozaifa Nadeem, Khawaja Imran, Sanaullah Durrani, Chaudhry Mukhtar and Tanveer Alvi. Rawalpindi District Food Controller Faheem Arshad and Attock District Food Controller Shams Abbas assisted the DG Food in the meeting.
The talks ended with three clear decisions. All security branch personnel involved in the assault on the owner of Lasani Flour Mills in Taxila, and in registering a false case against him, have been suspended, and departmental proceedings against them have begun. The false case will be withdrawn. And all future matters between the department and the millers will be settled through mutual consultation and dialogue.
What the food department promised
The DG Food expressed regret to the association over the incident at Lasani Flour Mills. He told the millers that the provincial government would leave no stone unturned in providing protection to industrialists and businesspeople across the province, and would not allow any government department to subject them to injustice or mistreatment.
He also heard all the issues the association raised and assured its members that they would be resolved. The association described the meeting as positive and announced that it would extend all possible cooperation to the DG Food.
Why the strike began
The dispute began after food department staff allegedly assaulted the owner of Lasani Flour Mills in Taxila and registered a case against him. The millers said the case was false, and their association in Rawalpindi Division stopped supplies in protest. Flour millers had threatened to stop supplies across the division, warning that the protest would continue until the staff involved were punished and the case withdrawn.
The strike raised fears of a flour shortage in Rawalpindi Division, where flour is a daily staple. Imported wheat has failed to bring flour prices down in recent weeks, and flour prices remain the highest in Karachi among major cities, so any break in supplies in Rawalpindi would have hit households already paying more for food. Food prices have pushed short-term inflation past 12 per cent, according to the latest official data.
What happens next
With supplies restored, the immediate threat of a flour crisis in Rawalpindi Division has passed. The test now is whether the department follows through on the suspensions, the withdrawal of the case, and the promise of consultation. The association has said it will cooperate with the DG Food, but its members will watch the departmental proceedings closely.
What caused the flour mills strike in Rawalpindi?
The strike followed the alleged assault on the owner of Lasani Flour Mills in Taxila by food department security staff, and a case registered against him which the millers called false. The association stopped supplies across Rawalpindi Division in protest.
Who was suspended over the Taxila assault?
All security branch personnel involved in the assault and in registering the case have been suspended, and departmental proceedings against them have begun.
Have flour supplies been restored in Rawalpindi?
Yes. The Pakistan Flour Mills Association restored supplies across Rawalpindi Division and called off its strike after the settlement with the Punjab Food Department.
What did the food department promise the millers?
The DG Food Punjab promised protection for industrialists and businesspeople, said no department would be allowed to mistreat them, and agreed that future matters would be settled through consultation and dialogue.
