PESHAWAR(National times)- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging his intervention to lift what he described as “unconstitutional restrictions” imposed by the Punjab government on the inter-provincial movement of wheat. In his letter, shared on the social media platform X, Kundi warned that the curbs were undermining KP’s food security, triggering artificial shortages, and inflating wheat and flour prices. He stressed that the restrictions violated Article 151 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of trade and commerce among provinces, and went against the spirit of cooperative federalism. Kundi highlighted that KP is a wheat-deficient province, relying heavily on supplies from Punjab to meet its daily demand of over 14,000 tonnes. He cautioned that the ongoing curbs were not only creating public hardship but also encouraging illegal and informal wheat transport, causing severe price distortions in the open market. Punjab, however, has denied imposing any formal ban. Information Minister Azma Bokhari termed the allegations “baseless,” insisting that inter-provincial wheat movement remains unrestricted. Nonetheless, Punjab officials have admitted introducing a permit-based system and checkpoints to monitor “unusual” wheat transport, a move that has sparked sharp criticism from KP and Sindh governments as well as flour millers. Earlier this month, the KP government also wrote to Punjab, warning that continued restrictions were disrupting the food supply chain and destabilizing prices. The KP Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the move, while Chief Minister Sohail Afridi termed it a “violation of constitutional rights” and an “attack on the people’s livelihood.” Governor Kundi expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved “under the prime minister’s leadership” to ensure uninterrupted and legally protected wheat movement. Separately, Kundi also wrote to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, urging the restoration of daily domestic and international flights from Peshawar—particularly to Gulf countries—citing hardships for overseas Pakistanis and traders. He lamented that only one private airline was operating on the Peshawar-Karachi route, charging high fares and limiting access. The dispute over wheat movement has reignited calls for a consistent national wheat policy, with the federal government reiterating that no province should impose barriers on inter-provincial trade.