Stampedes across Pakistan for free flour distribution

ISLAMABAD: A woman and a man died and several others were injured in stampedes at flour distribution points in different cities of Pakistan. People staged protests against the government for badly handling flour distribution, The News reported.

The first stampede took place in Sahiwal when a large number of people showed up to get free flour with women also standing in long queues.

As the time passed on, the crowd became impatient that caused a stampede with everyone trying to get flour bag, The News reported. As a result, the woman was killed while 46 others were injured. Meanwhile, the Sahiwal deputy commissioner and the district police officer reached the spot. There were also reports of police baton-charge on the flour seekers, The News reported.

In Rahim Yar Khan, a 73-year-old man was trampled in a bid to get free flour while several others were injured. In Jhang, women staged a protest against the alleged torture on an old woman at a flour disbursement point at the Government Graduate Boys’ College. The women alleged that a discriminatory attitude was being adopted by the staff while disbursing flour bags, The News reported. Protests and brawls for the supply of free government wheat flour were witnessed at various places in Peshawar as the city’s police expressed their helplessness to control the situation, The Express Tribune reported. (IANS)