Towards simpler days

The people of Pakistan are no strangers to inflation. In the 1970s, during the revolutionary period of the PPP, the people of Pakistan witnessed the worst situation in terms of food shortages and inflation. The government introduced a rationing system. Similarly, ‘utility stores’ were also opened to provide relief to the people. However, the greed and ingenuity of our business community has always found ways to exploit the situation and fleece the public. They use tactics to hoard and create temporary shortages to jack up the prices. Usually, it is the middle men who benefit from such artificially created situations, exploiting both the consumer and the producer.

Unfortunately, in our country, the huge disparity in income between the rich and middle and poorer classes worsens the situation. The rich seem to be indifferent to price changes. Overall, our preference for luxury goods at any cost cripples the economy due to the ever-increasing import bills. We need to work hard as a nation to enhance our industrial output and drive up exports. We must make big changes to our lifestyles by relying on local produce and goods. It is time we as a nation came together to revive the economy and save the country from the curse of dependence on aid and debts, which is worse than slavery.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad