Despite heavy criticism from Pakistan’s major benefactors such as the US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calling the move a “mistake”, the extremely fragile PPP government has decided to reverse the recent price hike in POL products. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday announced in the National Assembly that after the strong demand from political parties, the public and parliament, his government, after a consensus that involved all major stakeholders and political parties, had taken the decision to maintain prices as they had been on December 31, 2010. This is a welcome move as the masses were extremely perturbed by the price hike that had been blamed on rising costs in the international market. However, when seen in hindsight, this revision has come about for two main reasons: to win back the MQM, which had recently deserted the federal government on, amongst other reasons, these price hikes, and to stop the agitation that was brewing in an economically distraught public. The first phase of this politically savvy operation seems to have worked as the Prime Minister’s visit to Nine Zero in Karachi on Friday has brought a victory to the faltering PPP government. The MQM has decided to rejoin the coalition “for the sake of democracy”, although it has yet to confirm when it will rejoin the federal cabinet. This is a big triumph for the PPP as it was walking on eggshells as a minority government. Now with the MQM, the major coalition partner, back on board, the predicted doom of the PPP government seems to have been averted. Another major decision announced by the PM on Thursday was that all future increases in POL products were to be implemented after a consensus of all parliamentary parties instead of leaving the decision to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). We have been arguing that OGRA’s regular price hikes have left much to be desired. There was no system of transparency and no accountability whenever increases were announced. This left the masses in the dark. Now, with all parties involved in a consensus to fix the prices of POL products, transparency can be expected. It is worth mentioning that this changed state of affairs, with the PPP conceding to some solid demands, is an indicator of a weakened government, a fact that has not escaped parties such as the MQM. A weakened government is one that is unable to make decisions and pass legislation without taking its stakeholders along. This move reflects this bitter truth. *