In Udta Pakistan, tomatoes selling at Rs 320/kg for everyone but Imran’s finance adviser

 

  By NAILA INAYAT 

Imran Khan’s finance adviser Hafeez Shaikh insists tomatoes are being sold at Rs 17/kg. He is in charge of Pakistan’s economic policy.

Pakistan has a tomato problem. Shortage of tomatoes has meant that it is being sold in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi for as high as Rs 320 per kg. It seems that in Imran Khan’s Pakistan, tomatoes have won the battle against the rising dollar, which is at Rs 156.

But not to worry, for Finance Adviser to the PM, Hafeez Shaikh, knows something that we don’t. He said that tamatars were available in the market for Rs 17 per kg. Wait, what? Then why did we buy them for Rs 320? Where did he get his tamatars from? And when did Shaikh last step out to go to the sabzi mandi? So many questions, so few tomatoes.

A meme doing the rounds on social media | Naila Inayat

“Karachi sabzi mandi mein…,” Shaikh started saying, when a shocked reporter interjected: “What, which sabzi mandi?” Shaikh told him to go and check it for himself and smiled. Then he said something about tracking the tomato rates on television – this is yet another remarkable quality of the Pakistan government, to find out about things from the TV. PM Imran Khan found out about the falling Pakistani Rupee after watching TV news.

Riveting indeed. Shaikh is the man who is in charge of Pakistan’s economic policy, if such a thing exists. And this is his connect with the ground reality of inflation. Notwithstanding his current boss, Imran Khan, who says that his government is “fixated” on providing relief to the common man.

The PM has already claimed that Pakistan’s economy has stabilised, even though the State Bank of Pakistan said the challenges are far from over.