Balochistan Farmers Demand Disaster Declaration After Storms Devastate Agriculture

Quetta: The Balochistan Zamindar Action Committee has called on the provincial government to declare the districts affected by recent torrential rains and severe hailstorms as disaster-hit areas following widespread damage to the agricultural sector.

In a joint statement, Committee Chairman Malik Naseer Ahmed Shahwani, General Secretary Haji Abdul Rahman Bazai, and executive members expressed deep concern over the extensive destruction caused by the recent extreme weather in Khuzdar, Nal, Wadh, and other parts of the province.

The committee urged the Balochistan government to announce an emergency relief package, stating that heavy rainfall and hailstorms had severely damaged orchards, standing crops, vegetables, and fruit farms, wiping out the year-long efforts of thousands of farmers.

The leaders said that farmers were already struggling with water shortages, climate change, rising prices of agricultural inputs, increasing electricity tariffs, and higher production costs. They added that the latest natural disaster has pushed the province’s agricultural sector closer to collapse.

The Zamindar Action Committee emphasized that agriculture is the backbone of Balochistan’s economy but has been facing a prolonged crisis due to what it described as continued government neglect.

The committee demanded that the government immediately conduct a comprehensive and transparent survey of the affected districts to assess the losses, provide financial compensation to farmers, and grant a complete exemption from agricultural taxes for at least two years to help prevent further economic and social hardship.