Winds of change

The change that the people of Pakistan were expecting in Naya Pakistan has come – albeit for the worse. Prices of all utilities have increased significantly. The escalation in gas prices has hit the public hard. An increase of 145 percent has been witnessed in my bill for the month of January – from the usual amount of Rs10,000 during the same period last year to an abnormally high level of Rs30,000. Such a phenomenal rise in the cost of one utility bill alone has shattered the monthly budget of all middle-income households. The agony and anguish caused to an average consumer by an unprecedented hike in the cost of living is unbearable. The situation warrants an urgent review of gas prices. The upward revision should not be more than 20 percent.

Ashraf Hasan Khan

Islamabad