Rising prices

This is with reference to the letter of Ms Sahira Rana published on the 16th in your esteemed daily on the captioned issue. May I point out that the things in Pakistan are not still so bad as even now-a-days there is one commodity - the labour - whose prices are not increasing at all.
This commodity belongs the poor class of this country; who being poor are also subjected to a number of taxes too leaving net purchasing power still lower than the wage they earn. Rising prices can be controlled provided you wish to do so. The history of Muslim Indian rulers tell us about Sultan Alla-ud-Din Khilji who reduced prices of everything by fixing the prices and then controlling the sales price too.
This step cannot be taken at least in Pakistan because it requires an honest bureaucracy which is not possible for our country because our decision makers are almost non-Pakistanis who think first about their interest then the interest of Pakistan.
However, the other end of this solution is wholly and solely for Pakistan only because it is to increase the prices of all commodities except labour; at least I am sure that our bureaucracy will do it surely as it benefits almost 100% the rich class of persons for whom our ministers and their entire staff is bound to oblige.
In the past we had been used to be told that Pakistan is still cheaper as compared to its surrounding countries, particularly India, but now-a-days we are on the higher side and when even the vicious fortnightly rise in prices of petroleum products they are decreasing it and when our democratic government blesses us with the increase in railway fares the Indian government reduces the same considerably - why it is so?
The reply is very simple - at our end every attempt is being made to stable the profitability of multinational companies while in India they don't care about it, rather they don't mind reduction in the profits of the petroleum sector or other allied multinational companies.
If our economic managers also work being Pakistanis for Pakistan then they would have also allowed the petroleum sector to increase their cost without increase in sales revenue resulting in fall in their profits.
If our government is concerned with foreign exchange reserves then who is there to ask about leasing policy of cars and other automobiles which has on one side declined the reserves and on the other increased the consumption of petrol. Is there any forum to ask our economists about who has benefited by this policy? The banking sector- same multinational factor.
To cut the whole story short in Pakistan the rising prices is not the real issue; however the real issue is who is benefiting whom? If we get the correct answer and have an intention to benefit our poor masses then we can do away with the problem otherwise we will be doing nothing but just look busy.
Through the courtesy of your esteemed newspaper I wish to request the Prime Minister of Pakistan to look into the affairs as a common Pakistani to rectify the situation for which the entire nation will be thankful to him.