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In Pakistan, Armed Guards Now Protect Wheat Deliveries As Food Crisis Worsens

As Pakistan lurches from one disaster to another, it finds itself in the midst of an accelerating food crisis at a time when the government is short on funds. With wheat and flour prices skyrocketing, armed guards must now accompany distribution trucks.

Pakistanis line up for hours to receive subsidized bags of flour in Hyderabad on January 10. Poor government planning in the purchasing of imports is being blamed for skyrocketing price hikes applied by flour millers, who are facing a wheat shortage.  
1 Pakistanis line up for hours to receive subsidized bags of flour in Hyderabad on January 10.

Poor government planning in the purchasing of imports is being blamed for skyrocketing price hikes applied by flour millers, who are facing a wheat shortage.
 
Laborers fill sacks at a flour factory in Peshawar on January 11. According to the former chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), Khaleeq Arshad, the country has been importing wheat from Ukraine for the past few years.
2 Laborers fill sacks at a flour factory in Peshawar on January 11.

According to the former chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), Khaleeq Arshad, the country has been importing wheat from Ukraine for the past few years.
Laborers show grains of wheat and ground flour. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the supply chain, resulting in a far smaller supply of grain than there is demand for. The scarcity of wheat has led to unrest in Pakistan, including a stampede that resulted in the death of at least one person.
3 Laborers show grains of wheat and ground flour.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the supply chain, resulting in a far smaller supply of grain than there is demand for. The scarcity of wheat has led to unrest in Pakistan, including a stampede that resulted in the death of at least one person.
Long lines for subsidized bags of flour were also seen in Karachi on January 10. The soaring price of flour has impacted the country's poorest the most. The situation is so dire that trucks loaded with wheat are now being escorted by armed guards.  
4 Long lines for subsidized bags of flour were also seen in Karachi on January 10.

The soaring price of flour has impacted the country's poorest the most. The situation is so dire that trucks loaded with wheat are now being escorted by armed guards.


 
An aerial view shows a flooded residential area in Balochistan Province on August 29. Pakistan's economy is still reeling from the floods of 2022, which inflicted unprecedented damage to the country. More than 33 million people were affected by the floodwaters, which left more than 8 million people homeless and caused more than $30 billion in damages and economic loss. According to authorities, thousands of flood victims continue to live out in the open.
5 An aerial view shows a flooded residential area in Balochistan Province on August 29.

Pakistan's economy is still reeling from the floods of 2022, which inflicted unprecedented damage to the country. More than 33 million people were affected by the floodwaters, which left more than 8 million people homeless and caused more than $30 billion in damages and economic loss.

According to authorities, thousands of flood victims continue to live out in the open.
Women wait hours for subsidized bags of flour in Karachi on January 10. Dozens of countries and international institutions have pledged more than $9 billion to help Pakistan recover and rebuild following the floods, which environmentalists and scientists blamed on climate change.
6 Women wait hours for subsidized bags of flour in Karachi on January 10.

Dozens of countries and international institutions have pledged more than $9 billion to help Pakistan recover and rebuild following the floods, which environmentalists and scientists blamed on climate change.
Men wait for hours for subsidized bags of flour in Karachi on January 10. Pakistan's inflation rate is also a factor. It rose to 24.5 percent in December from 23.8 percent in November. Food prices increased 35.5 percent in December, compared to 31.2 percent the previous month.
7 Men wait for hours for subsidized bags of flour in Karachi on January 10.

Pakistan's inflation rate is also a factor. It rose to 24.5 percent in December from 23.8 percent in November. Food prices increased 35.5 percent in December, compared to 31.2 percent the previous month.
In late December of 2022, the country's central bank foreign reserves dwindled to an eight-year low -- enough to pay for three weeks of imports -- as it dropped to $5.576 billion. 
8 In late December of 2022, the country's central bank foreign reserves dwindled to an eight-year low -- enough to pay for three weeks of imports -- as it dropped to $5.576 billion. 
People frantically crowd around a truck selling wheat flour in Karachi. Pakistan's political crises have also contributed to the falling value of its rupee, making commodities and imports much more expensive.  
9 People frantically crowd around a truck selling wheat flour in Karachi.

Pakistan's political crises have also contributed to the falling value of its rupee, making commodities and imports much more expensive.

 
A rice vendor in Karachi waits for customers. Former energy minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar warned on January 8 that Inflation will rise to 40 percent if the coalition government accepts the IMF's conditions for completing the ninth review of the Extended Fund Facility worth 7 billion US dollars.
10 A rice vendor in Karachi waits for customers.

Former energy minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar warned on January 8 that Inflation will rise to 40 percent if the coalition government accepts the IMF's conditions for completing the ninth review of the Extended Fund Facility worth 7 billion US dollars.
“The country is heading towards a disaster. An unpopular and non-serious government cannot steer the country out of the ongoing crisis,” Azhar said.  
11 “The country is heading towards a disaster. An unpopular and non-serious government cannot steer the country out of the ongoing crisis,” Azhar said.



 
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