In the aftermath of the dastardly attack on CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, a silent war has already begun between India and Pakistan. Farmers from Madhya Pradesh have reportedly stopped exporting tomatoes to Pakistan after the Pulwama attack.
"We are farmers and we grow tomatoes. We also export tomatoes to Pakistan. And by eating our food, they are killing our soldiers. We now want Pakistan to get destroyed. We will also not let any other country sent tomatoes to Pakistan," news agency ANI quoted a farmer Ravindra Patidar from MP as saying. "We are no more concerned about the prices of tomato getting exported. If there will be no soldiers, how will we survive. All the surplus money coming from export will go in vain," said another tomato cultivator Basanti Lal Patidar.
The move has been lauded by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. "I salute the decision taken by the brothers of Jhabua District of not selling the tomatoes to Pakistan. I admire their patriotism," tweeted Kamal Nath in response to the farmers' decision.
As a result, tomato prices have sky-rocketed to as much as Rs 180 per kg in Pakistan. Reports suggest that tomato exported from India fetch around three times profit in Pakistan.
However, Dawn newspaper reported that "Pakistan has already banned imports of tomato and potato from India for the last two years in fear of disease".
The tomato war comes amid a series of steps taken by the government against Pakistan after the dastardly terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. India had revoked the most favoured nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan and also hiked customs duty to 200 per cent on all imports from the country.