Economic torture

According to the recent statements by the finance minister, Pakistan has achieved some stability in its economic recovery and he is quite assured about getting a new long-term programme from the IMF in a couple of months. But when one tries to understand and ascertain the actual ground reality, it portrays a blurry and bleak picture of our economic progress. No doubt the inflation figures have been showing a downward trend but this is due to high base effects if we compare the figures on a year-on-year basis. The common man is in great stress due to increasing inflation and shrinking incomes. Due to the tough times the citizens cannot make both ends meet. The government, instead of adopting austerity measures, has raised the tax burden on ordinary people in the latest budget.

Mumraiz Khan

Karachi