Lahore, July 23 -- Pakistan's wheat crisis is intensifying due to policy shortcomings, weak planning and administrative lapses, with farmers' representatives warning that wheat and flour prices could rise further if urgent corrective measures are not introduced, The Express Tribune reported.

In a joint statement, Markazi Kisan League (MKL) Chairman Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali Olakh and President Muhammad Ashfaq Warraich blamed the crisis on the abolition of the wheat support price mechanism under reforms linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the failure of provincial governments to procure adequate wheat from farmers during the current harvesting season, The Express Tribune reported.

According to the MKL leaders, Punjab procured...