So Parvez Khattak was right after all. To everyone's surprise, Imran Khan reduced prices of petrol and electricity, going against the directives of the IMF and apparently under the delusion that he will gain the sympathy and votes of the electorate. He's in for a surprise. All the signs are that he did so because the opposition's march and talk of a no-confidence motion against the government have rattled him. It's obvious now that those who helped him get elected by massive rigging no longer support him. But realizing that the people haven't been fooled, he came up with a unique explanation for the reduction in prices. According to him, he reduced petrol and electricity rates because the FBR has managed to make a record collection in revenue. And to rub salt in our wounds, he said he did so despite price of crude oil going through the roof due to the Ukraine war.
Speaking for myself, I always fill up the petrol tanks of my two cars every month on the fifteenth and the last day of the month. The government agency for controlling fuel prices (OGRA) had informed that prices of petrol would be enhanced on the last day of the month, but as I said, Imran Khan reduced petrol price by Rs. 10 per liter. So I suffered a loss of Rs. 610, the first time this has happened. We'll have to wait and see if the IMF compels the government to reverse the measures. What no one has noticed is that price of LPG has been enhanced, and we'll have to pay much more for Sui gas, so the net effect will be the same: what we save in petrol and electricity we'll pay in the increased gas prices.
In the meantime, the government is expected to fall in the next two or three days, according to Fazlur Rahman, who has been the most vocal critic of the selected government of Imran Khan. I hope it happens and Imran Khan has to flee to the UK.
Post a Comment