ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which spearheaded the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) march against the Imran Khan government in 2022 on the rallying cry of inflation and price hikes, now appears to downplay the very issue it once branded as intolerable.
Back then, PML-N leaders framed rising costs of fuel, food, and electricity as proof of misgovernance, mobilising thousands under the PDM banner to demand relief for ordinary citizens. Today, however, voices from within the ruling party suggest a strikingly different narrative.
In a recent interview, PML-N MPA Somia Atta Shahani insisted that households in her constituency of Layyah can “comfortably” manage monthly expenses on Rs8,500.
لیہ میں 8500 روپے بہت بڑی رقم ہے، وہاں انفلیشن ریٹ بہت کم ہے، مڈل کلاس لوگ 8500 میں پورا مہینہ گھر چلاتے ہیں، وہاں برانڈ conscious لوگ نہیں، میرا گھر 8500 میں نہیں چل سکتا”
ن لیگی ایم پی اے سمیعہ شہانیبیشرمی،ڈھیٹائی، نالائقی کی انسانی شکل ایسے ہی ہوتی ہے۔
پتہ نہیں ن لیک… pic.twitter.com/mHhHZ2HCaR— iram shahzadi(ارم رائے) (@irumrae) August 11, 2026
“In my area, Rs8,500 is a huge amount. The inflation rate is high there, but the middle class is running the house for the whole month in a great way,” she said.
Pressed by the anchor whether she herself could survive on such a budget, Shahani replied: “Not me, but I have seen my relatives running their house. I complete all my groceries in Rs20,000. My cousin has installed solar, which saves on electricity bills, and she gets all her vegetables for Rs2,000.”
Her remarks have sparked criticism, with observers noting the stark contrast between PML-N’s past rhetoric and its present detachment from the economic realities faced by millions.
Political analysts argue that while the party once weaponised inflation as a political tool against Imran Khan, it now risks appearing indifferent to the same hardship under its own tenure.
The episode underscores a broader pattern in Pakistan’s political landscape: inflation is treated less as a structural crisis and more as a convenient slogan, invoked in opposition but minimised in government.
For citizens struggling with soaring kitchen budgets, rising fuel costs, and relentless utility bills, such shifting narratives deepen disillusionment with mainstream politics.
