Millions of Pakistanis must be frantically rubbing rusty lamps in hopes of a jewellery-laden genie because only extraordinary magic can help them endure the neverending onslaught of backbreaking prices. In desperation to bring the International Monetary Fund back to the deliberations table, the coalition government announced an overwhelming increase in the price of petrol, which would now be sold at a historic rate of Rs 272 per litre. Just two weeks earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had broken yet another record for a single-day increase (Rs 35 a litre); quoting unavoidable circumstances. By the looks of it, he has lost grasp on the fact that not all charts need to be topped and the brunt of his failed policies would not be borne by the masses alone. The fast-diminishing political capital also languishes on the butcher’s table; its eyes ardently awaiting some degree of salvation. While there remain no qualms about the critical need for the Washington money-lender to step in as the default fears loom larger and larger with every passing day, Mr Dar and his government need to realise the crippling implications for his countrymen, more than a quarter of whom already live below the poverty line. Burning holes in the household budgets, petrol alone would soon become the biggest-ever liability when the common man would have to contemplate whether to buy essentials for the kitchen or fill the tanks of their vehicles. That many of the slightly better-off are already living through the dilemma as they hurriedly make lifestyle changes or do multiple jobs to cope with inflation should have sent the message across a while ago. Alas! The ruling elite appears to have been cut from the same cloth! The deafening uproar over the miseries of their voters mysteriously loses its tenacity on the way from opposition to treasury benches. Just last year, the then administration’s every single such announcement used to be lambasted by the opposition as tyrannical attempts to “bury the people alive.” No matter what the circumstances may be, how long would Islamabad take to realise that it huffed and it puffed but repeated all the mistakes of the past and entered the final act on a much, much sourer note? Since petroleum products practically spell out the market trends for each and every sector, a tsunami of inflation is ready to burst through the floodgates. Beware! Beware! The Great Depression is Here! *