Black marketing

Ramazan is a month of blessings, when Muslims consider it obligatory to help their fellow citizens, especially the poor and deprived. Unfortunately, whereas in other countries retailers are known for offering discounts on various items during a festive period or religious occasions, our traders and shops tend to do the opposite. Jacking up the prices of food items, creating artificial shortages via hoarding etc have become the norm during Ramazan. This is quite unfortunate and against the very essence of this holy month. Every government which has ever been at helm is responsible for failing to curb this immoral and unethical practice. Quaid-e-Azam in his first address to Constituent Assembly on 11 August stated that “Black-marketing is another curse… you have to tackle this monster, which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and the essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits… ought to be severely punished, because they undermine the entire system of control and regulation of food stuffs, and essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death”. We, as a nation, have disregarded Jinnah’s vision and are suffering for it.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore