Barter PoK for tomatoes': MP farmers' offer to Imran

Bhopal: Tribal farmers of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh have made an ‘offer’ to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to help the latter end the unprecedented tomato crisis facing his country, suggesting him to barter Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with the pulpy vegetable.

In a letter to the cricketer-turned- PM of Pakistan, the Jhabua farmers’ union said their offer of “tomato for PoK” would not only help bring down the skyrocketing prices of the vegetable in his country but also normalize relations between India and Pakistan.

The letter has also set some other conditions to resume supply of tomato to Pakistan from Madhya Pradesh.

Besides deportation of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to India by Pakistan, the farmers also sought apology from the neighbour for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

The offer by Jhabua farmers comes in the wake of tomato prices in Pakistan touching as high as Rs 400 per kilo these days, making Mr Khan a butt of jokes by people in his country.

A girl in Pakistan was seen wearing ‘tomato chain’ instead of customary gold chain in her neck during her wedding apparently to poke fun at Mr Khan for acute shortage of the glossy red vegetable in the country.

Five tribal dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh, Jhabua, Ratlam, Khargone, Shajapur and Dhar, are known for producing tomato.

Tomatoes were earlier supplied to Pakistan from these districts through ‘mandis’ (agriculture markets) in Mumbai and Delhi. However, farmers in these districts have stopped supplying tomato to Pakistan in protest against Pulwama attack.