Flour dealers in Balochistan have announced a strike against the ban on inter-provincial supply of flour. According to flour dealers, there was a ban on bringing flour from Punjab and trucks loaded with flour had been stopped at check posts on the Punjab border with Balochistan. The flour crisis has further worsened in Quetta, Loralai and other areas of Balochistan as the supply has been interrupted from last weeks. The price of a 20-kilogramme flour bag jumped from Rs 2800 to Rs 3300 in the open market on Tuesday. They sought assistance from the government to resolve the issue on an emergency basis and make sure flour was affordable for the people of Balochistan. “We will shut down our shops in protest until our halted trucks leave and the strike will continue until lifted the ban on flour supply to other provinces,” Haji Ghani Nasar said. Ghani said that in the event of a shutdown situation, the unavailability of flour will only aggravate the problem for the masses. He urged the government to realize the situation as the strike would lead to a severe shortage of flour resulting in price hikes as other sectors were also linked with the flour sector. He appealed to the government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of flour to continue the process of bringing ease to the lives of the people of the province.