Pakistan army trades tanks for tractors in food-security push

Sprawling military-run farms stoke backlash over armed forces' pervasive presence

20230913 Pakistan Army Farm

Soldiers patrol a corporate farming project in Pakistan's Punjab province on July 23 (EPA)

MIFRAH HAQ, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- Pakistan's army is taking over vast swaths of government-owned land to grow food but the moves are fanning concerns about the powerful military's pervasive presence in a country facing economic collapse.

The plan -- two decades after pay disputes at an army-run farm sparked a deadly revolt -- comes as the South Asian nation grapples with dwindling foreign currency reserves that hamper its ability to pay for imported food and key commodities.

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