Minting money out of coronavirus
Pak Chronicle Report
Islamabad
The coronavirus epidemic may be treated like a curse in the world, but it’s time to mint money out of it in Pakistan.
The fear of its outbreak on large scale is paving way to mint money on everything which may be used to control its outbreak or to treat it.
After its emergence in Pakistan first face masks almost disappeared or their prices swelled many folds. The idea behind it was to mint money out of this crisis.
A case for smuggling of these face masks has also been registered against key government functionaries including Dr Zafar Mirza, the special assistant to Prime Minister on Health.
Federal Investigation Agency would probe the allegations levelled against Dr Mirza and others.
Laboratory tests’ rates have also been sky-high in major cities especially Karachi after its outbreak over here and idea behind it is to make large money out of it.
Pakistan International Airline (PIA), the national flag carrier increased its airfares to Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries amid outbreak of coronavirus over there.
After appearing of cases of coronavirus in Saudi Arabia thousands of Pakistanis need help of the national flag carrier to travel back to Pakistan.
However, Speaker National Assembly took notice of it on Saturday and one may one hope that something positive will come out of it sooner.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser called Minister of aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and expressed his deep concern over the sudden raise of airfares of flights intended for gulf countries specially Saudi Arabia. He said that the aviation ministry should take necessary measures before expiring of the 72 hours deadline.
According to a press release the Speaker said that no one should be allowed to extort money from anyone at this juncture of time. He said that airlines were overcharging rather extorting money from the Pakistanis intending for Saudi Arabia. He asked the minister for aviation to immediately address that issue.
According to the statement the minister for aviation informed the Speaker that government had already taken notice of the sudden raise in airfares and necessary measures had been initiated.
He informed that in wake of the corona outbreak and reporting of cases in Pakistan only three major airports had been kept functional for international flights and restricting international flights to and from other airports in the country.
Opportunities of extorting money are not limited to coronavirus spread only because masterminds can do magic over here in this connection.
Pakistan had produced plenty of wheat for it but someone in power corridors thought it mandatory to export wheat to a neighbouring country in huge quantity.
The result of it was devastating because it caused crisis of availability of wheat in Pakistan and in some areas wheat flour was sold on phenomenal high rates. The government may claim anything for this crisis but main idea behind it was to mint money.
The holy month of Ramazan will fall next month and items of necessity would start touching sky-high which would be beyond reach of common citizens.
The main idea behind it would be to mint as much money as possible. One may only hope that practice of extorting money from common citizens would end someday but it requires will and determination to do so. Currently nobody knows when this lucky day will come in our life.
Ends
