Did you buy sugar at reduced price?

The government on Sunday came under fire after its officials stirred hornets’ nets by making statements about reduced sugar prices and the availability of natural gas during the winter.

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudry and Special Advisor to the PM Shahbaz Gill claimed that the price of sugar had been reduced by Rs43 per kilogram. They issued similar tweets and attacked media outlets for not reporting on this positive development. Chaudry reiterated the need for “new laws” about media as, he said “the nexus between a negative media and fake news is dangerous for the country.”

However, it was not long before social media users started questioning these claims and asked where they could get sugar at reduced rates. Most of them said they had purchased sugar at Rs140 per kg.

چینی کی قیمت میں پانچ نہیں دس نہیں ترتالیس روپے تک کمی آگئ ہے لیکن مجال ہے میڈیا پر یہ خبر بھی آجائے دراصل ہمارا میڈیا چوبیس گھنٹے صرف سازشوں اور غیر مستحکم ہونے کی نوید پر ہی چلتا ہے، منفی میڈیا کا فیک نیوز کے ساتھ ربط ملک کیلئے انتہائ خطرناک ہے اسی لئے نئے قوانین ضروری ہیں

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 14, 2021

A few social media users said that only poor quality sugar was available at R90 per kg, but it lacked sweetness and was in powdered form.

SAMAA TV‘s Barrister Ehtesham Amir-ud-din, who hosts Sawal, said he had got the latest prices from Islamabad and Sargodha and found that sugar was being sold at Rs130 per kg, though a poor variety was available at Rs95.

He rejected Chaudhry’s claim that the media was conspiring against the government and said that it only reflected the truth.

“The media is telling you that the performance Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government has come up with is dangerous for this country and we really wish you all the very best that you perform well.” 

Meanwhile, the Petroleum Division and the Sui Northern Gas Company issued separate statements to claim that reports about a possible gas shortage during the winter were not true.

مختلف چینلز پر گمراہ کن خبر چلائی جا رہی ہے کہ دن میں صرف تین وقت گھریلو صارفین کوگیس مہیا کی جائے گی۔ وزارت توانائی کیطرف سے ایسا کوئی فیصلہ نہیں کیا گیا ۔ تاہم وزارت نے سوئی نادرن کے حکام کو کھانے کے اوقات میں گھریلو صارفین کو گیس کی فراہمی یقینی بنانے کی ہدایت جاری کر رکھی ہیں

— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) November 14, 2021

The reports carried by almost all newspapers in the country were based on a statement by Federal Energy Minister Hamad Azhar who told the Senate that the natural gas would be supplied only thrice a day to consumers so that they could prepare the three meals of the day.

The Petroleum Division and the Sui Northern Gas Company said that the government instructions were misinterpreted by the media. The statement said that the government had instructed officials to ensure gas supply on these three times during the day at every cost while trying to provide gas for the rest of the day as well.

However, after the debate on gas started, some people reported that they were already facing interruptions in gas supply. Abbas Khan Sangeen, a lawyer from Peshawar, says he has filed a petition with the Peshawar High Court over the issue of, what he called, illegal gas load-shedding and low pressure.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2021/11/debate-on-sugar-price-gas-shortage/