Federal Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that Pakistan’s path to self-sufficiency would require sacrifices like eating fewer grains of sugar – a notion that was criticized by many citizens on Twitter.
During a media address, Gandapur questioned whether the nation had become so cold that it could not sacrifice a few grains of sugar if it meant better prospects for Pakistan’s economic self-sufficiency.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) minister wondered that if the inflation rate was 9 percent, did it really hurt to eat fewer bites of flour (roti) to protect the future children from a life of indebtedness to other countries like the US. He added that Prime Minister Imran Khan had told the US that Pakistan would decide its own fate and that was a stance that the nation should also strive for.
Several social media users critiqued Gandapur for his words. One user jabbed that those nations that counted their sugar grains before eating them, were successful in the world.
Another said sardonically that PTI had found a solution for inflation, which was to guilt trip the poor into consuming less staples.
Other users were also displeased at PTI for their approach to ending poverty.
One user branched out of the criticism to address Gandapur’s taunts against Hindus. In the media address, Gandapur demeaned Hindus for their faith and practices. A user wondered how many ‘bigoted’ ministers like Gandapur were in the PTI government.
Taken aback by his ‘justification’ for inflation, many users said that Gandapur could abide by his own stance and consume less ‘honey’.
In doing so, the users had referenced an incident from 2016, in which Gandapur was booked for possession of unlicensed liquor and weapons. The politician had claimed that the bottle of high-end whiskey that was worth Rs20,000 was, in fact, honey.
