Fuel Price Hike Hardly Justified
By Dr A Khan
Chicago, US
The peoples’ government has announced the biggest petrol price hike at a time when global oil prices are on the decline and the Saudi government is offering financial relief in the payment of oil purchases. The middle class and the poor in Pakistan are already facing tremendous challenges and hardships. Needless to say, any increase in petrol/diesel/CNG price adversely affects the middle and poor classes of the country. It appears that the peoples government is doing everything in it power to crush its own people economically.
It is also interesting to note that the price hike comes at a time when ninety-nine percent of the corrupt people on the ECL are being allowed to flee the country with their booty. The major benefactors of NRO are buying huge amounts of dollars to transfer their black money outside the country, thus contributing to the decline in the value of the rupee. The regulators are being allowed to play poker with the happenings at the Karachi Stock Exchange and import-centric policies are playing havoc with the local manufacturing sector and the foreign exchange reserves.
It appears that government officials making public policies have no idea of their implications, at micro and macro levels, for the middle class of Pakistan. Public policies are being formulated by clueless government officials in a hush-hush manner without any debate or discussion in the Parliament. The petrol price hike measure is very harsh - the government’s action is analogous to using an ox-knife to kill a bird.
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