ISLAMABAD, (TLTP): Top court Tuesday refused to entertain plea challenging registrar office objection over ban on the export of vegetables and fruits for three months to ensure prices do not rise in the local market in the midst of the ongoing COVID 19 crises.
Advocate Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta has invoked Supreme Court jurisdiction during last month urging for imposition of a three-month ban on export of vegetables and fruits as it would escalate prices in the local market. He submitted people cannot afford higher prices at this critical juncture when Pakistan was under a lock down to control the COVID 19 pandemic.
However, the registrar office had returned the application on the grounds of maintainability saying civil miscellaneous application contents were not coherent and the language was ambiguous and misconceived.
Challenging the objections Bhutta requested the court to remove objections, however, the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed refused the application for hearing in chamber observing it shall be heard on its turn, Bhutta told.
It is worth mentioning that Bhutta had made a point in his petition that fruit and vegetable rates had soared sharply over the last two years saying potatoes price rose from Rs 15-20 and apples from Rs 50-60 which were now selling over Rs 40 and Rs 100 per kg in the local market. Moreover, Bhutta said, all good quality fruits and vegetables are exported which only leaves sub-standard supplies for local consumption.
He also highlighted that price hikes do not benefit the farmers alleging it is the middlemen who make hay as the sun shines by abusing the extraordinary circumstances. Bhutta pointed out that only today the United Nations has shared its apprehensions on COVID 19 pandemic leading to shortages of food and has earned governments to better manage supply chains.
