LAHORE: Participants at a seminar demanded that the government tax the wealthy rather than the poor and redirect debt payments to aid the working classes.

A large number of women attended the Women in Struggle for Empowerment (Wise) seminar “Economic Crisis, Increasing Inflation, and Effects on Women” on Wednesday at the Lahore Press Club. They conducted a demonstration with banners and placards before the seminar. Instead of social spending, they demanded a reduction in needless development spending. Protesters also chanted slogans condemning the government and the IMF for their predatory policies that have crushed the poor.

According to them, inflation in Pakistan has been at an all-time high since 1974, and a quarter of the population was already living in poverty prior to the crisis.

They said the people were struggling to meet their basic needs, and the cost of nearly everything was soaring, leaving the poor even more desperate and pushing many in the lower-income group and lower middle class into poverty.

Wise Executive Director Bushra Khaliq said the prices of wheat flour, electricity, gas, and petrol had reached a record high, adversely affecting the lives, livelihoods, and overall well-being of poor people.

She said the speed and magnitude of the evaporation of purchasing power and the decline in living standards are unprecedented.

Institute for Social and Economic Justice Executive Director Abdul Khaliq said Pakistan is in a perfect debt trap and both the ruling elite of Pakistan and the IMF are responsible for the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan.

He said the ordinary people of the country are struggling to afford basic necessities amid no chance of prices falling.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2023