Tomatoes just became Rs300 per kilo and Pakistanis are losing it

KARACHI: It’s been a strange week for Pakistan. Well, isn’t that the case every week? But we’ve been subjected to certain dietary restrictions that are perhaps new to us. For instance, a few days ago, locusts had taken over Karachi and Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahu advised us all to not panic and instead the hoards of locusts flying around and make biryani out of them.

Now, Pakistanis are imagining a life without tomatoes as prices soared from Rs160 per kilo to Rs300 per kilo within one day. There are several reasons for this and climate change is one of them. Because of change in weather and the unprecedented amount of rainfall, there’s a shortage of tomatoes in the market.

However, the situation became worse when Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had no idea what the prices were and dismissed the concerns of reporters who asked him to comment on the matter. In a video he can be seen saying, “Look, tomatoes are being sold for Rs17 per kilogramme at the sabzi mandi,” says the PM’s adviser.

Of course, Pakistanis are responding to the situation with their usual remedy: humour.