Pakistan is in one of the worst fiscal crises it has ever experienced and desperately needs money. As a result of the inflationary spiral, the average person finds it difficult to satisfy their basic needs. A free flour programme was started specifically for the poor in the Punjab region as part of the Ramzan package to combat inflation.
A video of Pakistanis in Peshawar running after and pounced on a truck carrying wheat flour intended for the impoverished has recently emerged on Twitter. In the footage, people can be seen pushing and elbowing one another while climbing the truck delivering free wheat flour. Later, it was claimed that before the truck arrived at the distribution center, residents looted it.
A Twitter user shared visuals of the incident and wrote, ”The wheat supplied by the #Pakistan government to the flour mills of Sambaryal from which free flour is being given. Meanwhile, people in #Peshawar fighting for free Atta.
After waiting in line for hours to buy flour but being unable to get a 10-kilogram bag, the protestors blocked the road. The package, which was intended for the nation’s underprivileged classes, was characterised as a major relief for the poor, according to the Daily Times.
At least four elderly individuals have reportedly passed away recently while attempting to obtain free flour, according to a PTI report. He claimed that the incidents happened as a result of the extreme crowding and a shortage of facilities at the locations where the government distributed free flour to its citizens.
“Two of them died due to stampede and the other two died after getting exhausted while standing in queue for long hours,” he said. Police on the other hand also baton-charged the people seeking free flour to force them to stand in the queue.
The nation’s economy has been in disarray, and with its foreign currency reserves falling to just over $3 billion, it is in desperate need of outside funding.
