Prime Minister Imran Khan at the weekend tweeted a Reuters story
on food inflation in India. In his comments; PM Khan said the sensitive price
index in Pakistan has shown a decline for the second consecutive week. He said
this ‘decline’ in food inflation in Pakistan was “in contrast to the situation
in other parts of the sub-continent’. ‘Inshallah; we will bring inflation
further under control;’ he concluded.
The government must be
credited if inflation particularly the spiraling prices of the essential items
are brought under control but it seems Prime Minister is not properly briefed
on this issues by the concerned officials and departments. Food inflation is
said to be still highest in Pakistan among the South Asian countries and the
government needs to properly probe that what were the reasons behind food
inflation.
The deteriorating COVID-19
situation in India where tens of thousands of people are infected by the
pandemic and high number of deaths on daily basis is one of the reasons behind
inflation in India. Moreover, long lockdowns also interrupted supply chains
across India which contributed to high inflation. But thanks God; the pandemic
situation was not as bad in Pakistan as in the neighboring country and Pakistan
lifted lockdowns long before India which resulted in the prompt resumption of
food chains.
However, the inflation caused
in the country is much severe than in India. It means it was more of a
governance issue than the usual economic matter. The country has been hit by
sugar and then wheat / floor crises for several months but no tangible measure
has been taken to bring the culprits to task and to bring down their prices for
a common man. Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy and Prime Minister
has repeatedly said that development of agriculture sector would be the top
priority of his government but the people linked to this vital sector complain
that government has so far done nothing for the resolution of their problems. Earlier
this months; hundreds of farmers from all across Punjab; the food basket of
Pakistan - converged to Lahore to protest government’s failure to fix a
reasonable wheat support price. Instead of giving a patient hearing to their
grievances and taking measures to resolve their genuine problems, the police
resorted to baton charge to disburse their protest. At the time when opposition
has launched a protest movement to bring down government, it was advisable for
the rulers to engage disgruntled sections of society into meaningful dialogue,
but the government officials preferred to use force to silence the protesting
people. Moreover; it looks strange on the part of the government to take action
against the farmers but is reluctant to act against the powerful lobbies; cartels
and mafias which caused food crisis in the country. It is ironical that Prime
Minister has appointed a farmer as Federal Food Security Minister but he has
been reluctant to constructively engage with farmers to address their problems
and also avoids to media to speak on these topics. Interestingly; once in the
National Assembly he said he did not know how come flour disappeared from the
market. Critics say the government has learnt the art of exaggerating its
achievements on economic front. They believe that claims over downward trend in
food inflation in recent weeks is a simple spin as government has failed to
look into the reasons behind this exorbitant inflation. Government undoubtedly
took pains to bring down the current account deficit and then taking it into
surplus mode. There have been improvement in the flow of remittances by
overseas Pakistanis who are now sending more money through official channels
instead of using dubious modes like hundi and hawala mainly because of strict
international monitoring for dirty money. But these achievements could not be
substitute for the badly needed and long awaited measures to be taken to put
the economy in right path. The government has yet to take structural reforms
and go after powerful mafias to stop economic hemorrhage of the country. The
government has to give increased attention to the problems faced by the common
man on the street and for him price hike is the most important problem. It is
pity that in an agrarian country, the common man could not afford to buy basic
food items. The government, therefore, needs to draw up a robust strategy to
deal with the situation on priority basis. People still recall that how did the
so-called sugar crisis led to the downfall of powerful military dictator Ayub
Khan in the 1960s. One of the measures to control inflation to be taken by the
government to keep a close eye on fluctuation in the domestic and international
commodity markets and should have the remedial measures handy in case of any
disruptions. The government could have easily managed the wheat and sugar
crises by timely import from the international markets. But inordinate delay in
imports allowed local mafias to jack up prices of the commodities at their
whims to pocket maximum profits. The government has to encourage the local
farmers to increase their production and they should be given maximum
incentives for this purpose and at the same time should keep the activities of
the middle men and mafias in check to prevent them from swindling the genuine
farmers as well as common people. Prime Minister in recent days has held out
assurances that his government would not allow further cartelization of sugar
and wheat but the people would like him to translate his words into actions. If
his government’s response to the sugar scandal after the release of the joint
investigation report is any guide than one does not expect any prompt action
against those responsible for such crises. The pressure of the common people is
building on the government to take tangible measures to mitigate their
problems. Any lethargy in this regard would provide an opportunity to
opposition to exploit the situation in its favor. The coming weeks and months
are appear to becoming very challenging for the government.
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