AS the government once again jacked up prices of POL products and the rupee hit a record low against the dollar, Prime Minister Imran Khan has tried to console the masses by declaring that the price-hike was a temporary phenomenon, which will reduce soon.
Addressing a ceremony in connection with the inauguration of a 600-KV transmission line between Matiari and Lahore, he also expressed the optimism that the pace of progress on all the projects under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would gather momentum again.
The PM argued that Covid-19 had stalled communications in many areas, led to travel bans and affected supply chains across the world, which increased food prices and also affected the work on CPEC projects but now it would be expedited.
There is no denying the fact that the Coronavirus badly affected economic activities and production/supply chains all over the world including Pakistan and this has something to do with the issue of price-hike.
However, the issue was quite serious before the spread of the virus and it has assumed more serious dimensions even after resumption of normal activities of life in the country as well as other regions of the globe.
That the price-hike in Pakistan is unrelated to the principle of supply and demand is evident from the fact that the Government moved quickly to augment wheat and sugar stocks when the country faced shortages of these commodities but prompt and adequate imports have failed to bring their prices down in the local market and instead the prices have gone further up during the last several months.
The Government has active plans to import more wheat and sugar to offset their shortages at home but imports are unlikely to curb the upward trend in prices, the cause of which lays somewhere else.
How can imports offer any satisfactory solution when the rupee is witnessing continued slide against the dollar and the Fitch Ratings on Thursday revised down its forecast saying the average rate of rupee against the dollar would fell to Rs. 180 next year, which means no respite in imports related inflation even in 2022.
The Government also increased the price of petrol by Rs. 4 a litre and kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs7.05 and Rs8.82 per litre, respectively on Thursday, which will have its own spiral impact on prices and services.
This is not the end of the saga as plans are afoot to increase both electricity and gas tariff significantly with serious repercussions for the cost of production and doing business with impact on the overall prices.
Therefore, the optimism of the Prime Minister notwithstanding, there is no silver living on the horizon and people would continue to experience difficulties on account of sky-rocketing inflation especially when the Government seems to be unable to deal effectively with mafia of different sorts.
The situation would change only if the Government makes conscientious efforts to harmonize its policies with oft-repeated announcements/commitments.
As for the CPEC, it is encouraging to hear from the PM that the pace of implementation would be increased.
However, the remarks of the Prime Minister have confirmed reports appearing in the media as well as general impression that the historic initiative has lost its momentum because of lethargic attitude of the ministries and departments concerned as well as due to geo-strategic expediencies.
This is despite the fact that the CPEC is, perhaps, the only foreign funded programme in the history of the country, which has helped solve some of the chronic problems of the country and is contributing immensely to socio-economic development of different regions, especially those which remained neglected in the past.
No one can deny that it is because of the expeditious completion of a number of power projects under CPEC that Pakistan is today surplus in power and load-shedding has become a thing of the past.
The project that the Prime Minister inaugurated on Thursday is yet another example of practical utility of the CPEC projects as the transmission line would help bring down the line losses to about four percent as against 17% on old transmission lines and ensure stability of the entire system.
There are clear advantages of pursuing the CPEC initiative and, therefore, the authorities concerned should take a clear stand on the matter despite foreign pressure as this is a once in a century opportunity to put Pakistan on the accelerated path of progress and development.
