LAHORE: Both treasury and opposition lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly criticised the lack of wheat policy, cautioning that inertia could create food securityissuesin the country.

During assembly session on Thursday, treasury member Zulfiqar Shah took on Parliamentary Secretary for Food Malik Waheed, who seemed unprepared to respond to MPAs` queries regarding his department, warning that the countrywas stable only until the people were having bread to satiate their hunger and the day they could not find anything to eat, they would take to the streets and destabilise the government and the governance system.

`The population of the country will double by 2025. What will the government do to feed this huge population, if it stops making production of wheat attractive for the growers?` he asked, adding, `There will be trouble if you will not make people food secure.

Zakiya Shahnawaz, another treasury MPA, said that only grain satiates hunger of the people and warned that if the province was kept devoid of a wheat policy, it would make Punjab deficient in wheat and its people would become victims of malnutrition.

She appealed to the government to make a clear wheat procurement policyat the earliest, provide relief to the farmers and enhance wheat production to meet the food requirements of the growing population.

Opposition member Rai Murtaza Iqbal declared food security as important as defence.

Malik Waheed wavered on the official rate of wheat, sometimes saying a rate of Rs28,000 and sometimes Rs3,000 per maund. He, however, said that a new wheat policy was in the offing.

In what could be a hint that Punjab is unlikely to procure wheat this season too,he said that the storages ofthefood department would be rented out when the current stock of grain there was exhausted.

Meanwhile, treasury MPA Amjad Ali Javed threatened to protest on the staircase of the assembly by wearing a black armband over the issue of LahoreGymkhana rent.

He said that only Rs5,000 per month rent for 117 acres of Gymkhana land was ridiculous as the club administration was declining to appear before the special parliamentary committee for a clarification on the issue.

Ruling party MPA Samiullah Khan showed helplessness of the special committee on the issue and lamented that the politicians were taunted as the elite, but if anyone desired to understand the elite class ruling the country, then just look at the Gymkhana issue and know who`s running Lahore.

Earlier, the session began with a usual delay of two hours and 47 minutes.

Members on both sides of the aisle complained about the late start of the session. Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said that the session would start on time on Friday (today).