Joke of the century

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was quoted by the media as saying that “...the inflation rate in July-August 2015 has been the lowest in over a decade at less than 2 percent” while Pakistan Bureau of Statistics chief Asif Bajwa put the annual inflation rate at 1.72 percent – to be precise. This is the biggest joke of the century. What the officials concerned have forgot to mention is that low inflation means less increase in prices, and not a reduction in previous high prices of all goods and services. Inflation at this low would be a dream even for the best performing economies in the world.
Inflation during the latest PML-N government has broken people’s back. It is the highest ever experienced in the history of this country due to unprecedented taxes, sky-rocketing utility charges, withdrawal of subsidies, removal of exemptions, etc. What is deplorable is the role of the State Bank. Despite being an autonomous body, it is basing its monetary policy on fictitious figures fed by the government. It is continuously slashing down interest rates whereas the IMF is rapidly granting nonstop waivers to the government and releasing loan instalment without verifying ground realities in the country by using some credible benchmark.
Fuad Enver
Islamabad