MANSEHRA, March 17: A local leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, Sheraz Mahmood Quraishi, criticized the PML (Q) government at the centre and the MMA government in the NWFP for the sharp increase in the prices of edibles and other items of daily use.

Speaking at a news conference here on Wednesday, Mr Quraishi said that due to wrong policies of central and provincial governments, the common man is faced with an unabated price spiral, creating problems for them.

He said that the leaders who claimed they were champions of Islam and those who claimed increase in the foreign exchange reserves were only deceiving the people. He said the rulers were indifferent to the plight and miseries of the common man.

One the one hand, the salaries of the members of parliament and members of the federal and provincial cabinet were being raised, while on the other, essential commodity like wheat flour had gone beyond the reach of the common man, he added.

He said that during the last two months, Rs 120 increase had been witnessed in the price of a 40 kilogram bag of flour and Rs 15 per kilogram in the price of ghee and edible oil.

He said prices of iron and steel products had doubled and with the advent of summer season, an increase of Rs1,100 had been witnessed in the price of ceiling fan or a pedestal fan.

He demanded of both the central and provincial governments to pay heed towards the plight of the common man and to take drastic steps to bringthe price-hike and unemployment under control.