Islamabad: This Eid may pinch the pockets of Pakistanis as they fear Islamabad's decision to suspend bilateral trade relation with Delhi may resulte in the skyrocketing price of all food items in the country.
Traders and common people said this is going to be a difficult Eid for them as a ban on Indian food imports would further add to the inflationary pressure that is already crippling the household budgets of most Pakistanis.
"The rising inflation is disturbing our daily kitchen expenses with no signs of growth in the income. Starting from milk to vegetables to meat everything has become costly."
"And now suspending trade (with India) will further increase prices of daily kitchen items doubling the trouble for us. I don't know how we are going to manage," said Najma, a distressed housewife.
Even there is no respite for street-hawkers and small vendors as the suffer the same heat.
"Just 3-4 days are left for Eid and the market looks so dull. We depend on India for vegetables and onion, which are so essential to cook food on Eid. I am sure, the price of onion and all will increase further. What does Imran Khan want us to eat? Grass?," asked Iftikhar, an angry seller.
Pakistan has been staring down the barrel of a balance of payment crisis for more than a year. The country depends on India for the imports of essential food items, such as onion, tomatoes and chemicals. And with Eid around the corner, the common man in Pakistan could end up burning a hole in the pocket.
It may be noted here that, the Pakistani government hiked the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5.15 per litre and Rs 5.65 per litre respectively, even as the country is facing a severe financial crunch. While petrol will cost Rs 117.83 a litre, a litre of diesel will cost Rs 132.47.
Apart from the hike in petrol and diesel prices, the rates of kerosene oil and light diesel have now become costlier by Rs 5.38 and Rs 8.90. The new prices for diesel, kerosene and light diesel now stands at Rs 132.47 and Rs 103.84 respectively.
The move comes after the government had ordered the reduction of the prices of 'naan' and 'roti', the country's staple and hugely popular flatbreads.
Also Read: Taliban's Eid message rife with panic, fear
Currently, the rates of naan are ranging between Rs 12 to Rs 15 in different cities across Pakistan, while roti is available at Rs 10 to Rs 12 a piece.
Pakistan's exports to India was pegged at USD 312.032 million during the last fiscal year, compared with USD 419.773 million in June-July 2017-18. These figures came after India imposed 200 per cent customs duty on Pakistani imports and the stripping of the MFN status by New Delhi.
