The recent reversal in the prices of petroleum products was treated with a unanimous approval by all sections of society. This was also aided by the media as labelling it as a gift for the nation. This unabashed populism by the media and the political parties who pushed the measure in the first place astonish me. The political parties are obviously looking for votes but the media could still get its ratings by covering this issue in a somewhat balanced manner.
Everybody knows that the reduction in petrol prices can only be upheld by a Herculean subsidy by the government. Our government which is already under immense fiscal strain will not be able to sustain this for long. Then, petrol prices will be increased with a greater vengeance once OGRA does its bimonthly review of international prices.
We live in a global market and we cannot be above the vicissitudes of that market. While there are a lot of policies that the government can be taken to task for (such as its monetary management policies, bad borrowing practices etc), the ones that have been victimised unfairly by the media (POL price management and the proposed RGST) are the ones that least deserved it. It is time that the audience should wisen up and not let the media make such fools out of them.
We must treat expert commentary with a pinch of salt and strain our own grey matter to at least check out if the argument being presented by these experts make sense. Its high time we cant be taken for a ratings ride.
ALI SHAH
Lahore
