Islamabad [Pakistan], July 15 (ANI): Amid soaring flour prices across the country, a severe staple crisis looms over the federal capital as approximately 45 flour mills face an imminent exhaustion of wheat stocks following the Punjab Food Department's abrupt suspension of wheat supply permits, Dawn reported.

The Rawalpindi chapter of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) warned on Tuesday that this arbitrary halt to transport permits is bound to trigger an artificial flour shortage across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, and Kotli Sattian, while encouraging black marketing and breeding rampant administrative corruption.

Exposing the opacity of the Pakistani administrative machinery, the association revealed that the Punjab Food Department (PFD) failed to issue any written mandate or official notification regarding the suspension, choosing instead to convey the decision verbally on July 13.

Historically, milling units situated within Islamabad's I-9 and I-10 industrial zones have relied on procuring wheat from Punjab to sustain the basic dietary needs of the twin cities. Conversely, Rawalpindi houses a mere 11 flour mills, of which only seven remain functional at present.

Highlighting the structural vulnerability of the food supply chain, the PFMA noted that the heavy concentration of milling infrastructure in Islamabad underscores its pivotal role in feeding the entire Rawalpindi-Islamabad region, cautioning that any deliberate blockade of wheat would starve the local markets of flour.

Showing solidarity with the capital's crippled milling sector, the Rawalpindi chapter of the PFMA threatened that mills in Rawalpindi would also shut down operations if supplies to Islamabad were not immediately resumed. The association asserted that the malfunctioning Punjab Food Department would be entirely accountable for the resultant chaos and breakdown in food distribution.

Dawn reported that until a few days ago, transport permits for roughly 8,000 tonnes of wheat destined for Rawalpindi and Islamabad were being processed routinely, which had briefly stabilised the volatile market and sustained an uninterrupted supply chain. However, the regime's sudden policy reversal has now stoked widespread fears of an acute bread shortage.

Compounding the crisis, PFMA (Punjab) Chairman Riazullah Khan stated that these capital-based mills were explicitly set up to safeguard the food security of the twin cities.

He lamented that while the Punjab Food Department has traditionally overseen Islamabad's mills through its Rawalpindi desk, the authorities have repeatedly choked wheat supplies in recent months under various flimsy pretexts, plunging millers into deep financial uncertainty.

According to Dawn, the association pointed out the irony in the state's mismanagement, noting that the Punjab Food Department had itself developed an online portal for wheat clearances and formally registered Islamabad's mills on the digital platform. The millers maintained that they remained under the direct oversight of the Rawalpindi Food Department and had meticulously adhered to every bureaucratic directive issued by the Punjab regime.

Despite total compliance, the state machinery cut off permit access for Islamabad's mills without providing a shred of explanation, a heavy-handed move that destabilised the market and disrupted essential food supplies.

Demanding an immediate reversal of the erratic policy, the PFMA urged the restoration of wheat permits so that capital-based units could source grain from producing districts to feed the twin cities. The body further demanded that access to the online permit portal be reinstated, arguing that a transparent digital system is vital to strip state officials of discretionary powers and curb institutional corruption.

Exposing the restrictive internal trade barriers within the country, the association pressed the administration to dismantle unnecessary blockades on wheat movement. The millers finally appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to intervene and salvage the federal capital from a self-inflicted, devastating flour crisis. (ANI)