As Pakistani politicians thrash out the details of whether to restore the pre-November 3rd judiciary in Pakistan or not, they seem to have lost sight of a more pressing issue at hand - food, one of the basic needs of all human beings, and one of the basic tenets of the ruling party, the PPP’s manifesto. A recent UN report says that over half the country’s population, nearly 77 million or so to put a figure at it, are food-insecure. Flour prices alone have tripled in the past month, as queues outside grocery stores continue to grow at an alarming rate. The flour crisis that hit Pakistan last year and now threatens to spiral out of control even led to the defeat of the previous ruling party, the PML-Q, in the February 18 elections.

Aid agencies such as the World Food Program are already appealing worldwide to donors for aid to assist countries such as Pakistan to face the tough task ahead i.e. to ensure food supplies for a rapidly growing population. The Pakistani government has taken some steps in recent days to ensure sustained wheat supply by importing more wheat and sealing the borders to prevent smuggling of wheat. But this is not a problem that was created in a day, and can be resolved in a day as well. According to analysts, the Pakistani government must take immediate steps to help the population increase their income level, as food prices are soaring globally and will not go down anytime soon, and to work towards reforms in the agricultural sector, and to control the rising level of inflation.

However, if the Pakistani government does not take action, 77 million food-insecure people could soon take to the streets in protest, and anarchy will then be the order of the day, not coalitions and judiciaries.