According to federal cabinet, the prices of essential commodities have been declining for the last two weeks. Well, that’s news to us. The ground reality is however quite different. The prices of almost all essential commodities are showing an upward trend. It is increasingly likely that we suffer a substantial fall in demand and have overcapacity of electricity as a result of the current price hike. Every price hike will increase the number of hungry people in the country. The salaries of government and private sector employees should be increased in accordance with the prevailing price hike. It is quite clear that the federal cabinet was given inaccurate information about the prices of essential items.

Saleem Khan Bangash (Peshawar)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021