The government on 1st of March, announced an increase in petrol prices by Rs.5 per litre. Public is not going to welcome this increase, but there are no surprises.
This price hike was long due, as the government was holding back the petrol prices in Pakistan for quite a long time now. Oil prices in the international market were climbing up for the past several months, however, the government of Pakistan did not pass on the rise in prices to the general public mainly due to the upcoming elections.
This has been a trend in Pakistan that nearing the election period, the ruling party holds backall sorts of price increases in the hope that the public would appreciate the efforts to lower the commodity prices and re-elect the ruling party. However, once the elections are over and the party is re-elected with majorty votes, it would have a free hand for another 5 years to play with prices hikes.
On the other hand, if for some reason, the ruling party is not re-elected, the new government would be left with no choice but to raise the prices and held responsible for the act of agonizing the public.
This is exactly what has happened this time around as well. The rise in petrol prices was long awaited and has eventually come out to haunt us. The point for the public to note is that this has nothing to do with the new government (which has not even be offcially formed as yet) and is due to the price control strategy followed by the previous government. This increase however, is just a fraction of what is actually aimed and more increase in prices will be coming soon. So stay put and see what more is coming our way !
No comments:
Post a Comment