As the nation reels from the loss to Australia in the semi-final and collects itself from the fever dream that was this world cup, there were a lot of lessons to learn – both from cricket and the increasing pressure of inflation. Ariba Shahid brings you cricket, visa rejections, and the hard realities of inflation in this week’s social media roundup.
Hope from cricket
Chalo boys. Kal se back to politics, USD/PKR Rate and work 🙄
— Rants by Naufal 🇵🇰 (@NaufalEsbhani) November 11, 2021
Enough talk about cricket. Time to be unproductive while talking about something else such as the PKR and petrol prices. The good news for die-hard cricket fans is that the pain from this will not go away for a while, and maybe we’ll be feeling just a little numb the next time we’re getting our gas tanks filled.
{Editor’s aside: On a very brief off-beat note, the Pakistan cricket team’s performance at the world cup has been outstanding. Their ability to distract the nation and bring out smiles at a time when inflation is soaring has perhaps been one of the few things keeping us all going. What is even more heartwarming than the team’s talent is the clear camaraderie and friendship that exists in this young group. It is something to admire and look up to. To all seasonal cricket watchers, this unit has been developing for years and has acted with pride and dignity. They deserve the same in return.}
The real export leftovers
https://twitter.com/QarGil/status/1457989933076041728?s=20
Pakistan has a market for export leftovers. We’re not just talking about the t-shirts and night suits you get at zainab market, but people that couldn’t make it to foreign universities. There are some employers that hire almost exclusively graduates of foreign universities, but since times are tough they may want to go dumpster diving and get some of these export leftovers on board.
{Editor’s note: Prime locations to find these export leftovers are universities like LUMS, IBA, Habib and others. Some common defects might include bitterness, frequent bouts of weeping whenever the word ‘Visa’ is uttered within a 10 mile radius of them, overuse of the word ‘bourgeois,’ and a liberal arts education.}
Horsing around
1 hour ago
Me to Petrol Pump Attendant: “I have never in my life paid Rs11,000 to get my petrol tank filled”
Petrol Pump Attendant to me: “I have never in my life paid Rs150 to buy a kilo of sugar” pic.twitter.com/ZYg4yzwk1H— farrukh saleem (@SaleemFarrukh) November 9, 2021
Truth be told, the only reason we’ve added this tweet is to make fun of it and the author. We honestly don’t know why he’s used horses or why he chooses to embarrass himself everyday. It is, however, a cool departure from the hideous yellow graphs that we are used to seeing. Whatever is happening, it is an interesting method of presenting data and we very much hope that this becomes a thing.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars
https://t.co/KykmKoRXUt pic.twitter.com/Zbk3Eblv70
— ⚡️ (@Scrivenshaft_) November 9, 2021
Being a heiress is goals. Inheriting a crippling economy is not goals. Too bad we were dealt the cards we have. I wonder who is to blame. Perhaps a certain generation that had it far easier than this current one?
An idea a day
https://twitter.com/AamnaFasihi/status/1458219545508855810?s=20
Airlift now sells mobile phones. A new hussle every week in the hopes something will click. However, the transportation tech company could’ve changed how people commute permanently. Oh well, guess they’ll just sell phones now. But hey, maybe when they stop believing in this idea they can bleed their investors for even more money and start selling cars and buses on their app too.
Tough reality
How is the current inflation in Pakistan impacting your life?
What changes have you or your household made to adjust to it?
This is a serious tweet and I would love to get as many responses as possible to learn.
A a Retweet would be appropriated.
— Ancient_Soul (@NyaPakPuraneLog) November 10, 2021
This tweet and the replies to it are important. Inflation has been hitting a lot of people hard. Check up on the people around you maybe? The real world impact of inflation is astounding. There is nothing fun about it and there is very little reason to not acknowledge it and be defensive, as the government is being right now.
Shrinkflation
It’s called shrinkflation, not captured in inflation — but apparent through a reduction in size, the decline in quality, etc. https://t.co/NSwgDaq0tL
— Ammar Khan (@rogueonomist) November 10, 2021
Shrinkflation has been bad. We feel your pain Faseeh. It hurts.
Financial inclusion for women
In terms of #womenentrepreneurship, Pakistan has the lowest rate, with a female-male entrepreneurship ratio of 1:21. Currently designing a solution for @KarandaazPK ‘s #FIWC2019, that we think can help women beat the odds!
— CreditPer (@CreditPerPk) November 7, 2019
A ratio of 1:21 is absurd. Absolutely absurd. We hope the gap is bridged and more women are able to become financially independent. Women must be given opportunities to work and their access to financial institutions must be improved – this is essential, and it is a mantra we will preach anytime it comes up. This is where you really need affirmative action.
Underseas Pakistanis
POLL for BEST Gaslighting.
Which Overseas Pakistani did the BEST gaslighting?
See next tweets for Reference. RT to fulfill my ATTENTION cravings.
— mirMAKfake (@mirMAKfake) November 7, 2021
Imagine the ruling political party gaslighting underseas citizens through videos of overseas citizens talking about inflation in their countries. You don’t need to imagine it because it actually happened.
Hire a proofreader
Kis say drafting karayi hai.
“It is ‘unavoidable’..to maintain current Retail prices”
“We have tried ‘maximum’ to ‘facilitate’ our valuable customers in this Price Increase” https://t.co/xd6ov7Lisp
— DMKM (@2paisay) November 10, 2021
Kind of embarrassing when a company that sells expensive cars can’t afford someone to draft or proof read their documents.
{Editor’s note: This is particularly irresponsible when there are so many unemployed graduate students out there sitting on their humanities degrees}
I looked at data from both India and Pakistan to get a better sense of change in food prices during the pandemic.
The food & beverage components of the CPI in both nations shows that Pakistan’s food inflation has outpaced India.
🇵🇰 +17.9%
🇮🇳 +6.8%Chart 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/tSV8ljL8oI
— Uzair Younus عُزیر یُونس (@UzairYounus) November 10, 2021
This week the spokesperson for the ministry of finance came out to talk about how inflation in india is bad. He even made a list using random prices of products that were exaggerated. Here Uzair is schooling him over how you actually compare inflation.
