The process of recruitment of new ministers and advisors in the cabinet has not stopped, and government spending on allies and the talk of helplessness of the poor in this country is known to all. The high flight of the dollar also blew away the illusion of the whites, but the decision to close the markets at 8 o’clock has been fulfilled. The government, which is close to China and Saudi Arabia, is reassuring that the economy will get a breather after getting loans, but the data of the State Bank is telling a different story. Even if friendly countries give loans, what will happen to the payments that the borrowers have to make first?
The IMF is a last resort but compliance with its conditions can be the last nail in the rotten coffin of government performance. Due to this fear, the finance minister has stopped his steps toward the fund. Expensive petrol, expensive electricity, and an increase in the prices of food items, these measures may turn the wheel of the economy, but people will go down the circle of this wheel. then what will happen? Here, next time, not one, not two, but all the government parties will have to see the red light from the people.
Even with the IMF, our relationship is going from government to government. It has now become such a bone that even if you swallow, you get gasping for breath, and even if you spit, it is not possible to live. It seems that this time too, efforts will be made to build our economic structure in light of its strict conditions.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s wrong economic policies, deteriorating conditions due to the Corona epidemic, and instead of doing something for the betterment of the people, the government, which was bent on revenge, left the skin of the Pakistani economy in half. This coalition government, which came with the slogan of inflation, also gave nothing but a disappointment to the people.
It has become more and more difficult for a Safaid Posh person to run a household in this era. Income is not growing and expenses are out of control. The imbalance of income and expenditure has made people’s lives miserable. Guess that flour is a basic need but due to the wrong import policy of the government now its crisis has come to a head. During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we bought expensive wheat and doubled the rates of our wheat in warehouses. Which was taken advantage of by hoarders.
In a big province like Balochistan, the government stocks of wheat have been
depleted, due to which a 20 kg bag of flour is being sold for Rs.2300. People stand in
queues all day long to buy a few kilos of flour. Wheat became scarce and bread
also became expensive. A Roti (loaf) of fifteen rupees is now available for 20 or 25
rupees. When hearing the price of flour in the whole of Pakistan, the sky is falling on
the head. In many cities of Punjab, the price has reached 150 to 160 rupees per kg,
while the price control committees are busy fulfilling their dreams.
There was a time when utility stores were considered a boon for the poor and whitecollar to buy groceries, but things are no longer the same. The name is government subsidy but the prices are being increased there day by day. In winter, gas has also disappeared from stoves, while the price of LPG cylinders has also gone up from 1200 to 2500.
The first step of inflation is the expensive petrol, from where the people start to be paralyzed, then the expensive electricity has taken all the effort. The irony is that in many cities, heavy bills are being sent without a meter reading. All necessities of life have been removed from people’s reach. During these two years, the house rents in the middle areas of the big cities saw an increase of about 30 percent, and living in the posh areas has become a dream. Due to expensive petroleum products, public transport, and ship and rail fares also increased substantially during the same period. The irony is that government expenditure is not decreasing.
Millions of vehicles, lengthy protocols, brigades of advisors, ministers, and foreign trips are going on in full swing, but even in the examination hall of austerity, people have been forcibly held and seated. In the big cities of Pakistan, business starts only late at night. Due to weak economic policies, the already weak business community is now in more trouble. The finance minister has changed, if he does not change, the destiny of the people who are suffering from inflation and poverty will not change. Ishaq Dar was placed at the head of the people by echoing the tales of economic experimentation, but neither a dollar was caught from him nor he could take the stagnant economy off the ventilator. The inflationary genie is out of the bottle. Now, if we control it, the country will be bankrupt, if we don’t, the people will be burdened by it. The government is weighing on bringing a mini-budget, double deficits have also become a threat to economic stability. In these conditions, the growth rate is not taking the name of increase.
In this world of unemployment, thousands of youths are standing in queues for government jobs. On the one hand, the government alleges that everything belongs to the previous government, so the government! It was better to adopt the mistakes of the previous government than to let them finish their term with their mistakes so that poor
performance in the next election would be the reason for their own defeat. But you
have put yourself to the test by taking all the problems in your head. The people used
to ignore the previous ones as inexperienced, but your history of sitting in the seat of
power and running the country has also been a witness. Now, if in your government,
the bread will cost 20 to 25 rupees and onion will be 260 rupees per kg, then what
narrative will you take to the public?
