Crippling Inflation.

After having approved a Rs.7.91 hike in the price of electricity, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is looking to increase the per-unit cost further by Rs.5.46. People would pay the hefty price of Rs.30.28 per unit. The impact that such a move will have on the economy and public will be catastrophic, and that too is an understatement. Basic commodities like electricity, gas and petroleum determine the cost of other products and given the rate at which their prices are appreciating, it seems as though unaffordability will become rampant in society. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the overall inflation rate reached a record high of 23.98 percent in the last week. This is primarily because of the government's decision to increase tariffs on energy supply, thereby incurring a trickle-down effect on most sectors of the economy.

In order to pay higher bills, business owners transfer their high costs onto consumers, thereby charging higher prices in an environment where the majority were already struggling to scrape by. We have restricted the purchasing power of the people to such a degree that food three times a day has become hard. In fact, the desire to work more so that earnings...