The oil price in the international market is plunging down during the last week but here in Pakistan the government is not ready to give some relief of reducing prices of petroleum products to the people as it is decided by the Ministry of Finance to keep the oil prices unchanged for the next fifteen days.
On the other hand, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has also increased 3.82 per kilogram in the price of LPG after which the LPG’s rate has reached to Rs 254.86 per kg. With the arrival of cold weather in the country the demand for energy has increased.
Each government in the last 50 years has neither provided any major relief to its people as every ruler made a tall claim that he would transform the country into a welfare state nor developed good infrastructure in the country. It is really unfortunate that the culture of taking care of the people by the government, could not be developed in the country due to greediness of the ruling class and corrupt practices of the circles who remained at the helm of all affairs.
The extraordinary and constant rise in the price of petroleum products, electricity and natural gas during the last one year, has sorted the life of the common man miserable as it has become very hard for them to meet both ends. The majority of the people, after paying hefty utility bills on a monthly basis, cannot arrange enough money to cater basic needs like education of their children and the healthcare of ailing family members.
The people who are living below the poverty line are forced to even reduce their daily meals to twice instead of three times a day. Many of the children from lower middle class have left their education and are forced to work to contribute to their family’s earnings.
According to a survey, Pakistan is shown as one of the cheapest country in the world but the producer of this report forgot one important factor: i.e. Pakistan is among the countries which have the lowest per capita income. If we ask the people, they would tell that during the last one and half year or so, the inflation has increased manifolds but the income of the people remains at the same level as it was five years ago.
As a matter of fact, by virtue of price hike on the will of international donors, Pakistan has become an expensive country to live in, especially for the middle and lower middle classes of the society as the majority of the people have lost the purchasing power.
As the class difference in Pakistan is widening and the patience of the common man has reached to the periphery and if the situation would prevail, then the demonstrative burst of the lower segment of the society could lead them to the roads. Now it is high time for the government to revise its policies on a permanent basis and begin to transfer the financial benefits to the people. If the government would continue to keep people’s problems under the carpet, then the people may cross the limit of their tolerance as well as red lines too and If this would happen, then definitely the elite class of the society could be in hot waters.
