No matter what his political opponents say about him, the fact of matter is that Prime Minister Imran Khan has the courage to call a spade a spade. He even does not hesitate to admit mistakes and failures of his government. Addressing Sehat Card distribution ceremony in Lahore on Saturday, the PM acknowledged that sugar and wheat crisis had originated as a result of his government negligence, saying that an investigation was being conducted to find out who was responsible for it.
The way the PM openly admitted his government’s negligence, we are confident that he will also come clean on the probe being carried out by the FIA on his directions and will not spare anybody even if culprits are from his own party. This in fact is also important for PM’s own credibility as people regard him as someone who is honest and cannot make compromises for petty political gains. Those who made money by creating artificial inflation and shortage should be exposed at the earliest and also given exemplary punishment as per law. A strong mechanism needs to be evolved at district and tehsil levels that keep a strict watch on hoarders and profiteers who raise their ugly heads every now and then to mint money from poor consumers. A crackdown should be launched against this mafia without any discrimination. We appreciate the package announced by the government for common man through utility stores which will also help stabilise prices in open market. But people are also expecting some additional relief. As oil prices have witnessed a major decline in recent days at international market, the government must pass on this relief to people. Petrol is a key input for many industries while diesel is a key input for transport and agriculture sectors. Reduction in petroleum products would directly bring down the cost of doing business and reduce inflation. The salaried class is the one which is most affected by the price hike and they should be supported including through raise in salaries.
