Steps take to provide relief: Jam

Said the government had to boost industry and manage the energy crisis

Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan stressed on Monday the need for a price control mechanism in the country, saying that the relief provided to the masses through sales at the Utility Stores at reasonable rates was not a solution to the problem of inflation.

Talking to the media persons during a visit to a Utility Store in Karachi, the minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had increased the amount of Ramadan Relief Package from Rs7.5 billion to Rs12.5 billion to provide relief to the common man.

“All the items at the Utility Store are available at reasonable prices. The Utility Stores are not meant to beat the inflation, but a step to provide relief,” the minister said. “The government is taking initiatives for the provision of relief to the public,” he added.

About the economy, he said that the onus was on the government to put its house in order. He added that the government had to boost industry and manage the energy crisis. “When we borrow from IMF [International Monetary Fund] we had to return it too in a good manner,” he said.