SENSING the widespread sharp reaction of the masses to the latest wave of price-hike triggered by the governmental policies, the official circles are yet again dropping hints at reducing the customs duty on food items in order to bring the prices of essential commodities down to provide relief to the people.
Addressing a news conference, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the Government has decided to reduce GST rate and customs duty to half to 8.5% and Rs. 5,000 per ton respectively and would also abolish 2% additional customs duty to cut cooking oil prices by Rs. 45 per kilogram.
This is a positive development but too little and too late as a lot of damage has been done to the people due to reckless price-hike and no single measure of relief could compensate for the loss of purchasing power of the people.
The prices of cooking oil and vegetable ghee were showing an upward trend since long warranting concrete measures on the part of the authorities concerned but they did nothing beyond making hollow commitments.
Not to speak of the surge witnessed during the last few months, the relief that the Government intends to provide would not suffice to compensate for the hefty increase that the industry announced just a few days back citing justified and unjustified reasons and factors.
It may also be pointed out that edible oil and ghee are not the only items that saw a huge increase in prices as people are also being charged exorbitantly for wheat flour, sugar, pulses, meat and milk besides hundreds of other items.
Though provision of subsidy to a few million out of a population of 220 million is surely not the answer to the pathetic situation but even the targeted subsidy for selected families is nowhere visible.
There is a big question mark as to how the Government wants to minimize the impact of the price-hike even on the most disadvantaged segments of the society when millions more have fallen below the so-called poverty line in recent past.
It is regrettable that the Government seems to be in no mood to address the real causes of inflation and the plight of the people is becoming worse.
The value of the US dollar reached an all-time high against the Pak rupee, selling for Rs. 172.78 in the inter-bank market on Monday, stock market behaved nervously to negative indications on the economic front and the price of gold jumped by Rs. 1,700 a tola in a single day.
The opposition too is to be blamed for the present state of affairs as it did not champion the cause of the people and instead relied on rhetoric.
Now the opposition has announced to hold public rallies for two weeks to highlight the problems of inflation-ridden people and one hopes it will also take up the issue in right earnest at the forum of Parliament.
As for the Government, it is not doing any service to its political interests by taking refuge behind the lame excuse of global inflationary trends and instead stabilize exchange rate and put a full stop to recurring increases in prices of POL products and electricity and gas tariff to restore shattered confidence of the people as well as the business community.
