The government must finally overcome its sense of denial and treat inflation as its number one problem. According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by two percent in January, hitting 14.6 percent, the highest in 12 years. In the face of a wheat and sugar shortage, the government failed to control the prices of these food items in both urban and rural areas. The most price-inflated goods remained food items, including wheat, flour, pulses, sugar and edible oil.
Overall, inflation has hit rural areas the hardest, where essential food items, especially vegetables and fruits were sold at higher rates than in urban areas. Furthermore, the government looked the other way when dealers increased the prices of LPG cylinders, the only means of fuel for the rural population. The people who dreamed of ‘change’ and a ‘Naya Pakistan’ have thus far been disappointed by the present PTI government. Now they are wishing for real change through free and fair elections.
Azfar Siddiqui
Lahore