12/27/2025
Inflation — The Systematic Economic Killing of the People
By Sardar Muhammad Riaz
Inflation in Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, has spiraled completely out of control. Due to the state’s apathy, inflation has turned into a collective punishment for the people. This is not merely inflation; it is an economic killing carried out under state patronage. It is a calculated and organized form of oppression that does not knock on the poor man’s door—it vaults over walls, breaks locks, and steals breath itself.
This fire does not creep silently; it roars, screams, and burns human beings to ashes while they are still alive. No external enemy ignited this blaze. The fuel was poured by the state’s indifference. The ruling elite, seated securely in protected corridors of power, delivers sermons on patience as if hunger were a temporary illusion. Bread is no longer sustenance; it has become a rare commodity. Flour is not weighed on scales but exchanged for human dignity. Vegetables, lentils, milk, and meat have become the private property of the elite. The poor man’s plate is empty.
A mother no longer stands confidently in the kitchen; she retreats into shame, wondering what lie she must tell her children today. A father does not look at his salary slip—he measures his own stature, which shrinks with every passing month. These are the truths that never make it into budget speeches, yet they slowly consume the very fabric of society.
Healthcare is no longer about healing; it has become a business. Illness attacks the wallet more viciously than the body. Public hospitals resemble graveyards. The poor do not die from disease; they die from the prices of medicines. Parents avoid taking their children to doctors because consultation fees mock their capacity to survive. Education is no longer a ladder of progress; it has become a class filter. Fees rise, books grow more expensive, and the poor child does not abandon school—the system forcibly expels them.
The yo
