THOUGH the entire country is self-sufficient in crises, it appears Sindh has more than its share. …Sometimes we have a sugar crisis, at others electricity or gas crisis. Now we have a flour crisis. Mismanagement by the food authorities has complicated the matter. The flour crisis cropped up after the food department fixed a wheat quota for the flour mills. This led to an increase in wheat prices. It is … due to bad governance that people experience price hikes in other food items like sugar, edible oil etc. …[E]very crisis originates from an administrative crisis i.e. lack of good governance. Continuous crises in Sindh indicate the nature of governance. The rulers have been claiming that there is no shortage of wheat in the province. If that is so then why the flour crisis?

…Due to mismanagement by the government, the sugar mills could not be started in time and lands could not be [prepared] … for wheat sowing. It is believed that wheat was cultivated on less area. Viewing this scenario hoarders become active … and this [affects] demand and supply. As the government is not intervening, people are being looted. …[W]hen the harvesting season is near, or the sowing is over, all of a sudden, an artificial shortage … is witnessed and a situation is created to import the food commodity. When this imported commodity is marketed, hidden stocks are also put in the market, to show that wheat is available in sufficient quantity. [A]t this stage this farm commodity is declared to be in surplus and exported. The export mafia is also involved….

The government lacks the mechanism to control prices of essential items; hence the common man is at the mercy of black-marketing and hoarding. This is economic terrorism, through which people are deprived of their hard-earned money…. In this entire scenario the government is not ready to help and rescue the people. ...If the government cannot protect the people from this economic terrorism, what remains for it to do? … —(Jan 6)

Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.