Lahore: Following the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in April this year through a vote of no confidence, the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif landed into a turbulent period.

In a bid to find out how the people are coping with this ever-rising inflation Bol News discussed the issue with a common lot of the society. Following are excerpts: Sharing his views on the economic instability, a Lahore-based cab driver M Ali Rashid said, “The growing inflation is even worse than what we had experienced during the tough time of lock-downs during Covid-19.”

“The situation is so bad that people have resorted to begging. Even the rich have become poor. Who will eat fruit when flour prices are so high? If the inflation keeps on rising like this, then they will resort to even selling their children,” said Basit Ali, a fruit vendor, while speaking about the record-breaking inflation.

The devaluation of the Pakistani rupee has severely affected our purchasing power. From the prices of kitchen necessities to day-to-day travelling, education and building one’s own house, all have gone up sharply; whereas, overpopulation and a lack of job opportunities have made the economic woes from bad to worse. Many domestic and small-scale businesses running short of money to carry on with their work amid high borrowing costs and soaring inflation, forcing them to shut down their dream initiatives.

“I’m running a tuckshop. Five years ago I started my business to sell snacks. I’m worried about the continuous increase of prices as all my livelihood depends on edible oil and gas and the prices of both have skyrocketed. We used to buy oil at Rs120 a kilo during the Nawaz Sharif government and today’s prices are 300 per cent more. A poor can’t even afford a piece of bread these days. Everything is so expensive and I’m worried about how to bear the expenses. I’m paying rent for my house and this tuck shop and it’s hard to earn even that much. With three employees, there is no way to meet even the basic expenses. I can’t dream of something good for my children. I brought them to work with me to minimise the expenses so that I shouldn’t close my businesses. I wish that if any government comes, it should take special care of the poor like us and control inflation,” said Irshad Ahmad Awan, a tuck shop owner.

“What is a family man supposed to do in a scenario of record-breaking inflation like this? Whether he should fulfil the daily-life necessities, or pay fees for his children studying in school? Should he fill the petrol in his bike’s tank at such an expensive rate daily or focus on the mere continuation of his house’s monthly cycle, ” said Ali Arfat, a resident of Garden Town Lahore and father of three.

“Majority of the population belongs to the lower middle class. And due to the hike in prices of clothing and dowry items, people do not celebrate the wedding as they used to. Growing inflation has limited the capacity of both sides. Finding two meals on the wedding menu is now a treat. If the girl is educated then dowry is usually not the parent’s priority whereas in the under-educated families the customs are still followed and families take loans for girl’s marriage,” said Sami Ullah, head of a marriage bureau.