Sir: I want to draw the attention of the authorities towards a major obstacle in the way of development — inflation. The income of common people does not match the rise in prices. It has decreased their real income and increased uncertainty. Pakistan with a population of about 180 million has undergone remarkable macro-economic growth during the last few years but the core problems of the economy are still unsolved. Inflation is one of the core problems. There are many causes of inflation. First, the government’s indirect taxes are contributing to cost-push inflation. Second, printing excessive currency notes is increasing the money supply and distorting the value of money, raising price levels. Also there are many seasonal factors such as poor crops or shortage of imports from other countries along with smuggling that can create shortages of goods in the market and increase their prices. Inflation should be controlled, as the revenue of the common people does not match the rise in prices and it stops the economy from expanding. It can be controlled through strategic planning. Domestic production should be encouraged, investments in consumer goods instead of luxury goods should be given preference, foreign investment should be attracted and lastly a strong monitoring system should be established on different levels in order to have sound evaluation at every stage. ZAYNUB MALIK Via Email