Cabinet okays Rs15 billion relief package

The Federal Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, in order to provide relief to the common man has announced Rs15 billion package aimed at bringing down the prices.

The Cabinet approved a subsidy of Rs10 billion to utility stores over the next five months and Rs5 billion more will be given for Ramazan due at the end of April.

Announcing the decisions of the federal cabinet at a news conference on Tuesday, Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the cabinet’s decisions were aimed at cutting down the rampant price hike.

Firdous said the Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan (USC) was being given Rs10 billion in subsidies over the next five months — to be disbursed as Rs2 billion monthly payments. The move was aimed to help bring down prices of wheat, rice, sugar, cooking oil and ghee, she added.

Firdous further said a 20-kilo bag of flour will now be available for Rs800, while sugar and ghee would be sold at Rs70 and Rs175 a kilo respectively.

PML-N terms govt's package daytime robbery

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb has termed the government’s subsidy package for the deserving people “daytime robbery”.

In her talk to the media, the PML-N’s leader claimed that the Rs15 billion package would be “a form of oppression for the nation”, and that the government has exposed itself by introducing such a subsidy.

“Imran Khan’s partners have caused shortages of sugar and wheat flour [in the markets] […] sugar export, increase in prices, [subsequent] shortage and then import were meant to benefit a mafia,” she claimed.

“A mafia has been benefited as a ban has been imposed on sugar exports, and maintenance of high price(s).”

“Despite a ban on the exports of sugar and wheat flour, Imran mafia has exported these commodities by providing subsidy,” she added.