The recent decline in petroleum prices has come not just as timely relief but also as a breath of fresh air considering that Pakistanis are not used to their governments passing on reduction in international oil prices to local consumers. These are already times of high inflation which the government has been unable to do much about and cheaper fuel reduces input costs across the board and can help bring down the general price level, so there might be a little something to celebrate in this after all. At the very least, it should prevent any more unwarranted spikes in the general price trend.
Yet welcome as this news is everybody knows that the government has been put in a very awkward position by the IMF, which demands an immediate increase in electricity tariffs and new taxes via a mini budget in order to get the stalled bailout program back on track. So far this demanded has rebounded from the cabinet, where the prime minister refused to agree to such terms in times of already high prices, clear public discontent, and a combined opposition on the war path. Yet sooner or later the government will have to come to a final decision on the matter, which is why many people are very worried, especially since the Fund has made it clear that it is not going to soften its conditions.
Could this good news about the petroleum prices then be a prelude to caving in and accepting IMF’s conditions? The government, as much as it seems to care about prices, simply has no other choice. Its borrowing needs will become that much more urgent should the present scare about the coronavirus turn out to be more troublesome than earlier estimates. All this would no doubt be weighing just as heavily on the government as ordinary citizens. Surely now it would be realising more than ever that it should have moved more effectively and much earlier against all the so-called mafias it holds responsible for the “artificial price hike.” Simply blaming previous administrations and specific interest groups for everything that goes wrong in the country will just not wash with the people anymore. It is the government’s responsibility to keep prices under check at the end of the day. Hopefully passing the drop in global oil prices onto ordinary consumers is not just for appearances ahead of a very different course of action. While people appear, and indeed are, helpless at the moment, they do tend to have long memories, which can make all the difference at the next polls.
