KARACHI, MAR 1 /DNA/ – Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said why the prices of essentials are increasing across the country if there are ample stocks in the country.

He said that people are already worried about rising inflation, recession, and unemployment and their anxiety and agitation are increasing due to general inflation as well as artificial inflation.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that it is the administration’s responsibility to stop the  profiteers but their so-called success is limited to newspaper reports.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to stabilize the prices of important commodities and control inflation are commendable and it is the duty of his team to make the successful.

The business leader said that inflation in Pakistan has reached 27.6% while there are chances of it reaching 35%. Strict administrative action will have to be taken along with an abundant supply of commodities so that the hardships of the common man could be reduced to some extent.

He said that there is a need for a vigorous clean-up operation across the country to discourage hoarders. Better results can be obtained if the system of demand and supply throughout the country is closely monitored and action is taken against the concerned officers where there is a disturbance.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the officers who are the facilitators of profiteers and hoarders should be severely punished so that this collusion can be stopped and the practice of robbing the public can be stopped.

He further said that cheap markets should be set up across the country and instead of subsidizing utility stores, the amount of the Benazir Income Support Program should be increased substantially so that the inflation situation can be normalized and the Prime Minister himself monitor the situation.