One wonders whether it was an admission, a revelation or a confession, when the PM disclosed that the government had to put in a Herculean effort to thwart the downward slide of the dollar in December 2013 and stop it at Rs. 98 from Rs. 111 as it could have gone down to Rs. 50 and 60. He said that it was done to protect the interest of the exporters who would have suffered a great loss. I would like to ask you Mr Prime Minister, to protect the interest of the exporters? How many exporters are there, a couple of thousands? Are they all related to you? What about the interest of the 18 crore who are the masses, who would have stood to gain immensely?
All imports would have been at a lower price giving a big boost to the national economy. If fuel prices had come down everything would have consequently become cheaper. The furnace oil for the Rental Power Plants would have been available at half the price thus producing cheaper electricity. There would been very little or no load shedding if. It would have not only run the larger industrial units without any breakdowns but also provided power for millions of smaller businesses. It is really strange that just to protect the interest of ‘not even point one percent exporters’ the entire nation has been made to suffer. It does seem strange coming from those who claim to be doing everything to ameliorate the lot of the common man.
COL. RIAZ JAFRI (RETD),
Rawalpindi, July 16.