PTI farmers wing slams budget as ‘anti-agriculture’

• Calls measures ‘hollow incentives’; argues subsidies, loan schemes fail to address sector-wide distress
• Alleges govt is sidelining agriculture; criticises rising costs of fertiliser, diesel, electricity

ISLAMABAD: The PTI farmers’ wing has termed the 2026-27 federal budget as anti-farmer, anti-agriculture and disappointing for the rural economy, stating that the announced measures cannot serve as a substitute for a comprehensive agricultural policy.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Khalid Nawaz Sad­hraich, central secretary information of the PTI farmers’ wing, said the agricultural loans, specific subsidies and “hollow incentives” announced in the budget fail to address the needs of farmers.

Mr Sadhraich was joined by several lawmakers and wing leaders, including Senior Vice Presi­dent Mian Ghous, Khurram Sheh­zad Virk, Punjab farmers’ wing Cen­tral President Awais Jhak­kar, retired brigadier Aslam Ghu­man and Dr Azeemuddin Lakhvi.

The leaders highlighted contradictions in the data presented in the pre-budget Economic Survey.

They noted that agricultural growth for 2024-25 was initially shown as 0.56 per cent and later revised to 1.53pc.

Demanding clarification from the government on the revision, the leaders noted that only two years ago, the agriculture sector achieved a growth rate of over 6pc, with major crops growing at around 17pc.

The farmers wing leaders termed the proposed facilities in the federal budget as mere “lollipops”, stating that no clear, large-scale and direct relief has been provided for farmers in the fertilisers, seeds, diesel, electricity, agricultural tube wells, machinery, cotton, wheat, rice and livestock sectors.

“Agricultural costs are continuously rising, but there is no strong policy for crop pricing, market access, storage, processing and export facilities,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

They maintained that Pakistan imports around 90pc of its edible oil requirements, which poses a major threat to food self-sufficiency. Mr Ghous and Mr Sadh­raich said the figures proved that current economic policies are harming both farmers and agricultural exports.

Mr Virk and Mr Jhakkar called the current federal budget extremely disappointing for labourers, the rural economy and agricultural production. They said the government has practically ignored agriculture, which serves as the backbone of the national economy.

GB mandate

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Mr Khan expressed concerns over the political situation in Gilgit-Baltistan, alleging that the PTI’s public mandate in the region was being stolen.

He claimed that the PPP and the PML-N had limited representation in Gilgit-Baltistan but still won seats, while PTI candidates were deprived of their victories.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2026

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