By: Asem Mustafa
Needy in the ‘Land of the Pure’ who has very little of breath left to live on. Their life is sucked with every passing hour and they have been left with little hope of a good time.
‘A good time coming; We may not live to see the day’, these are the verses from the poem by Charles Mackay from Scotland and possibly describing the state of Pakistanis crushed between never ending price hike and ever rising promises of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The ruling PTI’s recent parliamentary party meeting had members with guns blazing at the relevant ministers seeking answers for which there were none.
The uncontrolled price hike has left everyone scratching their heads as what to do and what comes next. The ousted party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), on the unprecedented price hike has left no stone unturned in castigating the PTI led government besides calling names to PM IK.
The two and a half years of PTI government have made masses disgruntled and the electables fear, approaching masses in 2023 would be an arduous task. The plans are set for the future but the current is ignored.
The constructive thing that has made public all eyes towards PM IK is the stance he has taken in uprooting the menace of corruption and nepotism.
The world did suffer with Corona pandemic but the question arise what about the indigenous produce and locally manufactured goods.
The cartels and mafias hoarding the very basics of food commodities from the common man and making his sustenance next to impossible should have been punished and imprisoned.
The wheat shortage, sugar scam, they are the staple food items of the common man and are produced locally. The price control committees announced were mere an announcement and nothing was done to make them work or function properly.
All the setup for price monitoring made a further dent on the national resources with the outcome that was next to nothing.
The need of the hour is the mechanism as announced and in place should be made more active and strict monitoring should be in place so that the relief, which itself is a commodity can be felt and observed.
The masses on road and on media only talk out the price hike, which has made their lives miserable and they are at wits end as how to make ends meet.
PTI government has not much time to win back the masses and they have to come up with a plan to reach out all segments of society before 2023 arrives.
The few areas particularly in health sector with Sehat Insaaf Card and loans for the youth are good but there is need for more and exercise tight control over pro people initiatives.
The Prime Minister has to rein in mafias and cartels and make them pay for hoarding they have done. Those who have made people starve should face the dungeons for their insatiable greed in making humanity suffer; especially, the poor. Needy in the ‘Land of the Pure’ who has very little of breath left to live on. Their life is sucked with every passing hour and they have been left with little hope of a good time.
The writer is special correspondent at the ‘The Dayspring’