Pakistan: People seek relief from new Punjab govt amid record high inflation

Lahore [Pakistan], March 19 : The people of Pakistan's Lahore are now demanding economic relief from the newly formed government of Maryam Nawaz Sharif after suffering from skyrocketing inflation. And additional expenses during the festive season of Ramzan are increasing the strain on their financial condition.

A female food vendor from the city said, "From the last five years, I have stopped believing that I and my children are citizens of Pakistan, I sometimes think that I am living in a warzone or an occupied territory. The conditions have not improved for a long time."

When asked about the issues faced by the common people, Asad, a daily wager belonging to Lahore said that "the foremost problem faced by the people right now is the high inflation, every basic necessity like food and fruit items is now out of our reach."
"We demand that the Sharif government provide us with some relief package so that at least the poor can manage to get these things for their families. Our daily wages are low, there are other major expenses like high-priced electricity, water, and gas that cannot be borne by lower middle-income individuals. To survive, we are taking on more and more debt but one day we will have to pay. However, we demand that the government prioritise the lower-income group first," he added.

A security guard Ali, while stating his struggles for survival, stated that "only God knows how we are managing everything. I am a security guard and just to survive, I work for 16 hours a day. And we are not able to manage expenses with the mere PKR 20,000 that we get as a salary.
Another youngster, Rizwan, who works for a small government office, stated "They have imposed baseless taxes on everything. This not only is increasing inflation but is also making life difficult for our family, even when there are two breadwinners in my family."

Ali Sher, a white collared employee, said "An individual who has a private job is in the worst conditions, and the situation is not improving anyway. We have been observing these same conditions for a long time. The only concern for a salaried employee right now is inflation and nothing else. Nothing has changed in the previous governments; also, let's wait and watch. Even after keeping Roza, we have to travel long distances to get cheaper food. As salaried employees, we cannot afford such high prices within our budgets."
Sher further added that all salaried employees like him don't just have to manage food, but also have to pay rent and heavy gas and electricity bills.
"It seems like we are trapped within bills. I request that the government give us some relief, create job opportunities and control inflation and tighten their grip on the hoarding and corrupt Mafia, which has made life difficult for us."