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| Toyota Corolla 2012 |
The title I assume won’t make sense to some. Let me explain. You see in Pakistan the lower income class buys cheap Suzukis (the Mehran… and that’s about it). The middle income class buys Corollas. The XLi and GLi variants. The upper middle class or the wealthy (so to speak) buy Honda Civics. Of late people like Kamran Shafi have taken to Twitter and derided the government for not banning CNG installations and CNG filling in Corollas. Their logic is splendidly stupid, idiotic and nonsensical. They think people who can “afford” to buy a Corolla can also afford the petrol to put in it. Again, let me explain. The price of petrol per liter is around Rs 100-105. The price of CNG per kg is around Rs 75-80. The CNG is a cheaper, cleaner, better mileage fuel which over the long run is cheaper for the masses.
While I understand the need for the government to ban CNG for all cars over 1000cc (which includes all Corollas, and this decree has already been passed by the government) and redirect it to industry and electricity generation, the narrative that Kamran Shafi and his ilk are spreading is borderline imperialistic. No people who own Corollas do not have money growing on trees in their homes. To assume that makes you an idiot. No people who buy Corollas are not the uber rich. Assuming that makes you dumb.
Instead of spewing this crap logic, a more advisable and acceptable way would have been to suggest that Corollas have bigger engines than the puny, crack, tinpot cars that Suzuki sells. Bigger engine means more fuel consumption, which in turn means more natural gas depletion.
The Kamran Shafi problem
When I pointed out this logic to Kamran Shafi he called me “a rude PTI troll”. Now I don’t have much respect for the man to begin with, but whatever iota of respect I did have left in me went south straight away. Despite being a writer, an “analyst”, it just proved what shallow personalities these self professed “important” people of Pakistan have. He is just like the elitist hypocrites of Pakistan. No better, no different. He just has a different face and a different name. If you were to take away his VIP privileges, he would be out and about screaming and threatening you with “you don’t know who I am!!” and “I’ll call XYZ and have your job taken away!!”
See Kamran Shafi? I just made an assumption about you. How does it feel?
