Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah lashed out against Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government, saying that he [Imran Khan] used to say that whenever dollar appreciated, thieves benefited.
“Now who is a thief and who is a highway robber?” he wondered.
Referring to sky-high prices of almost all food items, he said that people just want to get rid of the rulers.
“Leave us … let us be … Leave the government and allow the prices of wheat flour, sugar and oil come down,” he maintained.
Addressing a large public gathering organized by the PPP in Malir, Karachi, Murad Ali Shah said that the government should be ashamed of all anti-people actions.
They should drown themselves in shame, he said.
Taunting at the prime minister, he said that he had claimed to bring in such philosophers and academics. “These Aristotles should be confined to their homes,” Murad Ali Shah said.
Citing data published in various media sources, he said that wheat flour was being sold at the highest price in Karachi. “Wheat flour is being sold at Rs1,320 per 20 kilograms in Sukkur, 1,420 in Hyderabad, and Rs 1,500 in Karachi,” he said.
He pointed out that all over Punjab, including Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, and Rawalpindi, wheat flour was being sold at Rs1,100 per 20 kg.
Pointing out that the Federal Bureau of Statistics showed sugar prices of Rs90 in various cities and towns in Pakistan, but its price in Karachi was above Rs115 per kilogram. “Sugar is currently available in Lahore for just Rs90 a kg while in Peshawar, its price is Rs108/kg in Lahore and Rs110 a kilo in Quetta,” he said.
Referring to the fast declining value of the rupee against the US dollar, the Sindh chief minister said that its value was currently hovering at an all-time high of Rs174 per dollar.
One government expert, he said, who remained almost all of his life abroad, was telling people that the rupee was not depreciating. “Petrol was now being sold near Rs140 per liter,” he said.
He said that price hikes had broken all previous records during this government’s three-year tenure. “No one will be able to heave a sigh of relief until they remain in power,” Murad Ali Shah said.
A rally was also staged at Empress Market by the Pakistan Democratic Movement or PDM to protest against prices hikes.
Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3EbmaqH
Post a Comment