Fast-food chains, hotels minting money in Pakistan

Local hotels, restaurants and fast food chains in Pakistan are indulging in over-charging in the absence of an authority to regulate prices. Foreign franchises in the food sector have arbitrary fixed higher rates as they claim to maintain quality and provide a better ambience to visiting food lovers. Many local restaurants charge higher rates despite the fact that they have no facility of air-conditioning in their eating halls. However, customers in Pakistan, particularly those who can afford, in the absence of other avenues of entertainment in a tense security situation, flock to such eateries in the city, ignoring their inappropriate pricing policy. At weekends, people throng such eateries and many have to even wait for getting a seat at such places. The menu cards at these outlets carry a huge price for one or two persons, but actual weight of dishes, like karahi or handi is not mentioned. People actually do not have much knowledge about the pricing mechanism, and operators of food-chains continue to run their business, thanks to rising trend of outdoor eating among people with families or friends. The prices of food items at eating places have gone up by 100 per cent in the last one or two years, but it has made no negative impact on their sales.