Price relief package unveiled ahead of Eid
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said the government has decided that as part of the Eid package sugar, grams and atta will be available at the Utility Stores at prices less than the open market.
Presiding over a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Prime Minister approved the Eid Package under which sugar will be available at Utility Stores at Rs.26/- per kg , Atta, Rs.11/- per kg, dal Channa Rs.30/- per kg, Masoor Rs.31/- per kg, Moong Rs. 47 per kg and dal Mash will be available at Rs.58/- per kg.
The new prices will come into effect from Thursday. The Prime Minister said that reduction in the prices of essential commodities will facilitate the common man, help them meet Eid expenditures and also have a positive impact on the prices in the open market.
Shaukat Aziz said the people should buy things from Utility Stores as prices of essential commodities have been reduced up to 10% and these items are available in sufficient quantity. The Managing Director Utility Stores Corporation informed the Prime Minister that government has opened a large number of Utility Stores during the last few months in various parts of the country. He said presently 740 utility stores are functioning and the number will be soon increased to one thousand to enable the people get essential commodities at cheaper prices near their residential areas.
The Prime Minister has also asked the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Baluchistan to keep a vigilant check on prices in the open market through price magistrates to ensure that there is no price hike on the occasion of Eid ul Azha. He said the provincial government should set up more Sasta Bazars, Eid Bazars, Sunday and Friday Bazars so that essential commodities are available for the people at affordable prices.
The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Jehangir Khan Tareen. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms pursued by our government have transformed Pakistan’s fragile economy into a stable and resurgent one and the economic growth is averaged at almost 7.0 percent per annum.
Addressing a Seminar On The Economic Growth Potential Of The Emerging Economies In The 21st Century And Pakistan’s Position In The Emerging Economies on Wednesday Prime Minister said Pakistan has lived through difficult and testing times in the not too distant past. Seven years ago, our economy was fragile, debt had stockpiled to unsustainable levels, fiscal and external imbalances led to macroeconomic instability, foreign exchange reserves were not sufficient to finance even a few weeks of imports, and downgrading by international rating agencies made access to international capital markets almost impossible.
The result unfortunately was decline in growth, increase in poverty and loss of economic sovereignty. “However due to prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms pursued by our government have transformed a fragile economy into a stable and resurgent one.