ISLAMABAD, APR 16 /DNA/ – Business leader and former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr Shahid Rasheed Butt, stated on Wednesday that although official data shows the nation’s inflation rate has reached a record low, consumers do not see any real improvement in their daily lives.
He asserted that the ongoing burden of rising prices clearly indicates a significant disconnect between economic data and the realities people experience in their daily lives.
Shahid Rasheed butt highlighted the significant financial setbacks faced by traders, which was a direct result of diminished consumer spending power.
In a statement issued today, he said that opportunistic price gouging has evolved into a substantial threat to the public and poses a considerable challenge to governmental authority.
The business leader pointed out that the failure to translate reduced inflation into consumer savings stems from intermediaries’ unbridled avarice and the populace’s continued suffering.
He asserted that illicit collaborations, manipulative tactics, and artificially created shortages within the essential goods market have become commonplace, imposing a severe economic strain on citizens.
Shahid Rasheed Butt emphasized the necessity for a unified strategy between federal and provincial administrations to combat this issue starting from controlling powerful sugar mafia.
He noted the global trend of declining inflation, where citizens in other nations are reaping the benefits, a scenario regrettably absent in Pakistan.
He criticized the ineffectiveness of the current price control mechanisms, the absence of robust market competition, and the prevalence of cartels, attributing this failure partly to institutional inadequacies.
He stressed that alleviating public financial burdens will be futile until the government effectively dismantles these exploitative networks.
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