A large number of workers here Sunday staged a protest rally against price hike and record food inflation and demanded to stop making Pakistan a colony of International Monetary Fund (IMF), whom they dubbed as a new East India Company.
As per details, a large number of workers staged a rally here against neck breaking price hike and record food inflation under the banner of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) and chanted slogans and the sitting government. The rally was led by Comrade Zehra Khan, Riaz Abbassi and Comrade Aqib Hussain.
Addressing the rally, labour leaders accused the rulers of being facilitators and agents of IMF and other global lenders. They said for just six billion dollars, Pakistan is being made an IMF colony.
Terming the present and past rulers responsible for the ongoing economic crisis in the country, they said that due to their anti-people policies today Pakistan is burdened with 130 billion dollars foreign loans and Rs 53.5 trillion internal loans. They said 22 percent increase in these loans was gotten during the government of Imran Khan. They said every new ruler has proved crueler than the previous one. They said the present government has pushed the masses to the worst economic crisis. By increasing oil prices to an unbearable level the poor masses are being pushed to hunger and death. The relief of Rs28 billion as announced by the government is like rubbing salt into the wounds of poor people of Pakistan. This relief is for eight and half Crore people which means a relief of Rs330 per head.
They said the real inflation is much higher than the government-announced inflation of 15.1 percent. They said that as per an estimate food inflation is more than 17.25 percent, while electricity tariff has been hiked by 24.8 and gas tariff by 45 percent. They said during last five years the rates of medicines have been increased by 265 percent.
They said that in 2018 minimum wage was Rs16200 or 132 dollars per month and in 2022 it is Rs19000 to 95 dollars, which means that real minimum wage is decreased by 33 dollars or Rs7300 per month.
