ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday for winning a third consecutive term in office, saying the landmark victory reflected the British-Pakistani official’s dedication to public service. 

Khan, 53, who was first elected in May 2016, beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes, with his win representing a swing of 3.2 percent to the Labour party. He won nine of the 14 constituencies, results showed on Saturday. 

Taking to social media platform X, Sharif offered his heartiest felicitations to Khan for his “hattrick” of victories. 

“As a hard-working British Pakistani, he not only raised the head of his parents high but also made every Pakistani to rejoice his victory with pride,” Sharif wrote.

He offered Khan best wishes for his future success as mayor of London. 

“The prime minister further said that his re-election for the third term also indicated his popularity and his devotion to public welfare,” the Pakistani prime minister wrote. 

Khan, who replaced Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016 and who has widespread policing and budget powers, has been an increasingly divisive figure in the past few years regardless of the facts for or against, particularly in the suburbs, where he fared worse than in the inner city.

His supporters say he has multiple achievements to his name, such as expanding housebuilding, free school meals for young children, keeping transport costs in check and generally backing London’s minority groups. His critics say he has overseen a crime surge, been anti-car and has unnecessarily allowed pro-Palestinian marches to become a regular feature at weekends.

With inputs from AP

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week formed a government committee to address the ongoing wheat crisis in the country, state-run media said, amid protests by thousands of farmers who say they are facing difficulties in selling and buying the food grain in Pakistan.

Farmers in Pakistan’s most prosperous Punjab province are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crops. The import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of 2024 has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity leading to reduced prices, they say. 

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday taking notice of the issues faced by the farmers in selling their wheat and obtaining wheat bags, formed a committee under Ministry of National Food Security and Research to address their grievances,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

Sharif issued the directives to form the committee during a high-level meeting he chaired on Saturday to review wheat procurement matters through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO). The meeting was attended by federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Attaullah Tarar, and other officials.

The committee would take measures to address farmers’ concerns within four days, APP said, adding that Sharif expressed concerns over reports of farmers facing difficulties in buying wheat at “fair” prices and tasked authorities to resolve the issue immediately. 

“The federal government, through PASSCO, is procuring 1.8 million metric tons of wheat to ensure maximum benefit to farmers,” the APP quoted Sharif as saying. 

“The prime minister emphasized that the government will not compromise on the economic protection of farmers and will take all necessary steps to ensure their well-being.”

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. The majority of Pakistan’s population, directly or indirectly, depends on agriculture for their income. 

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.