Crackdown Directed On Wheat Hoarding In Rawalpindi Division

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Sep, 2025) Commissioner Rawalpindi Engineer Amir Khattak on Monday issued a directive for deputy commissioners to compile detailed reports on wheat stocks held by all flour mills and farmers.

“The move is part of a broader effort to ensure an uninterrupted supply of wheat and flour across the region, aligning with special instructions from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz,” he said while chairing a meeting here at his office.

Commissioner Khattak stressed the need for strict enforcement of regulations to prevent hoarding and artificial inflation. He mandated that all inter-district and inter-provincial check posts be fully operational with all relevant staff present to monitor the movement of commodities.

"It is a special instruction of the Punjab chief minister that no farmer or flour mill should be abused anywhere," he stated, emphasizing that public relief was the top priority. He called on every department to consider their duties a "national duty".

The meeting was attended by key officials, including Additional Commissioner Coordination Syed Nazarat Ali, Director Local Government Sibtain Kazmi, Additional Deputy Commissioner General and Revenue, and the Director of the Food Authority.

Deputy commissioners from Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, and Murree also participated via video link.

Khattak said that the Punjab Government had established a dedicated monitoring cell within the Secretary price Control and Commodity Management Office for closely tracking the availability and sale of wheat, flour, and bread at fixed prices.

“The new cell will supervise district-level inspection teams to prevent hoarding and illegal profiteering. It will specifically scrutinize QR code permits for wheat and flour shipments leaving the province, compiling daily and weekly reports on all enforcement activities. These reports will be submitted to the Director General Food or Cane Commissioner, who will then forward them to the secretary concerned and the Chief Minister's office,” he added.

For the purpose, he said, five departmental desks would be set up in a control room set up at the Commissioner’s Office, with each head or a representative officer having complete lists of all flour mills, feed mills, and food grain licence holders of each district of the Rawalpindi District.