ISLAMABAD, June 25: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has criticised the increase in the prices of writing and printing paper and accused the government of pushing the people to the corner and making their lives miserable.

Secretary information PPP Punjab and member of the provincial assembly Farzana Raja said the move would further increase the stationery prices.

In a statement, she said the Rs4.50 per kg increase in the prices of various types of papers was condemnable because it would automatically raise stationery prices. The parents of students will face difficulties in buying books.

She said on the one hand the government boasted of improving the literacy rate and on the other it was making it impossible for the poor to even buy syllabus books.

Ms Raja said the regime’s claims of “literate Punjab” had become a joke after the hike in the paper prices. “They are uselessly spending millions on promotion of their literacy campaign while the ground realities are totally different,” she remarked.