In 2023, Pakistan introduced free-flour distributions during Ramadan amid high inflation and damage from the previous year's floods. Earlier that January in Mirpur Khas, hundreds of people had lined up for hours outside a park to buy subsidized wheat flour. When trucks arrived, the crowd moved forward and one man was crushed to death. Further deaths and injuries occurred during free distributions in March.
The defining feature of this wait was the failure of eligibility checks, limited distribution points and concentrated demand to preserve a safe order. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan conducted a fact-finding mission and documented deaths, injuries and administrative problems across several districts. This is not a story about a national “queuing culture.” It is about distribution design and the human right to reach essential food safely.