Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Thursday that the government had decided to challenge the ECP’s verdict to suspend the Rs 341 billion Kissan Package in court.
“The government will exercise its constitutional and democratic right to get justice for the downtrodden segment of the society, as the package was for the small farmers who own up to 12.5 acres of land and not for big landlords,” he said talking to media.
However, he said, it was yet to be decided which forum would be approached to file the appeal and consultation with lawyers was in progress. “The lawyers will decide about the forum whether it should be the Supreme Court or the High Court,” he said.
The minister said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chief Imran Khan was against the Kissan Package as it was not for big landlords who mostly belonged to the PTI like Jehangir Tareen and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
He said Imran forced the ECP to suspend the package at ‘gun point,’ threatening to stage a sit-in in front of its offices on October 4.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he said, had announced the Kissan package on the demand of small farmers and their elected representatives keeping in view their needs.
He said the prime minister had promised during the last federal budget to mitigate sufferings of the farming community by providing them financial assistance to purchase quality seeds, fertilizer and pesticides so that they could get better yields.
Pervaiz Rashid cautioned that if the Kissan Package was not restored, the fields might turn into ‘graveyards’ and economic conditions of farmers and growers would further deteriorate.
He said the package was for the farming community across the country and it was not constituency or province-specific.
He said that voice in favour of farmers would also be raised in the National Assembly, Senate and in the media.
