ISLAMABAD, June 24: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) has expressed concerns over the sky-rocketing increase in prices of 15 kitchen items during last week in the light of the weekly price data released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

In a statement issued here on Sunday, political secretary to Chairman PTI Imran Khan, Saifullah Niazi has asked how could a poor man with an average monthly income of Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 make both ends meet when the prices of daily food items like rice, vegetables, pulses, vegetable ghee and oil show a constant upward trend.

After the steady rise in key food items during the last week, he said a poor man’s budget could no longer sustain an increase in the range of 11 to 16.5 per cent.

He demanded that a Price Regulatory Authority must be given adequate leverage to exercise its powers to control and at least keep prices stable if not bring them down. He suggested that a parliamentary committee comprising members from both the treasury and opposition benches should oversee the working of the Price Regulatory Authority.

Mr Niazi reminded that only a couple of weeks had passed since the announcement of the federal budget and now their tall claims of reducing prices stood fully exposed.

“Instead of alleviating the burden of its citizens, the government is following the economic policies which have compounded the problems of a common man,” he regretted.

He said that the truth was that in the absence of a system of checks and balances the socio-economic circumstances of the country will not improve. He said it was a pity that despite having necessary powers, the people at the helm of affairs had failed to delivers.

“The fat salaries of high government officials clubbed with high perks and facilities is no secret to anyone but they do not justify even half of their own privileges. They all believe in the policy of “take everything and give nothing,” Mr Niazi maintained.