KARACHI: Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 9.2 percent in October, up from 9 percent in previous months, the statistics bureau said on Monday as the country’s prime minister called for measures to bring down the prices of essential commodities and provide relief to the public.
The general inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 9.2 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in October 2021 as compared to an increase of 9 percent in the previous month and 8.9 percent in October 2020, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) data.
The South Asian nation is facing inflationary pressure amid rising prices of commodities in the international market, including petroleum products, analysts say, as Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Monday said his government was working hard to reduce the impact of inflation.
“We are working hard to mitigate negative impacts of international inflation, especially in petroleum products and food items,” Khan was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office. “Stabilizing macroeconomic indicators in the country is the government’s top priority to spur economic growth.”
The PM has also directed authorities to take necessary measures to bring down the prices of essential commodities, the statement said.
For urban residents, according to official statistics, inflation rose by 9.6 percent on a year-on-year basis in October 2021 as compared to an increase of 9.1 percent in the previous month and 7.3 percent in October 2020.
However, inflation for rural dwellers of the country witnessed a slight surge, going up by 8.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in October 2021 as compared to an increase of 8.8 percent in the previous month and 11.3 percent in October 2020.
In October 2021, the South Asian country witnessed a 71.03 percent hike in the price of Liquefied Hydrocarbons for urban residents while electricity charges rose by 32.14 percent in the non-food basket.
The prices of vegetable and ghee surged by 43.03 percent, cooking oil by 40.02 percent and chicken by 34.69 percent.
Analysts say the country is facing inflationary pressure due to high commodity prices in the international market.
“Inflation is higher due to increase in petroleum prices on the back of rising global oil prices. It has fed into both the transportation and housing groups,” Samiullah Tariq, Director Research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment, said.
“Inflation is expected to go up in the coming months as global food and energy prices are still on the higher side,” said Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, a financial advisory platform.
Pakistan’s annual inflation rises to 9.2% in Oct. 2021 as global commodity prices spike
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Pakistan’s annual inflation rises to 9.2% in Oct. 2021 as global commodity prices spike
- Prime minister Imran Khan says his government working hard to reduce the impact of inflation
- PM directs authorities to take necessary measures to bring down prices of essential commodities
Pakistan’s Azan Ali Khan clinches Junior Under-17 Scottish Open squash title
- Khan defeats Swiss opponent to win tournament that featured players from 22 nations
- Khan will now compete in the British Open World Junior Squash Championship next year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani squash player Azan Ali Khan clinched the Junior Under-17 Scottish Junior Open Championship 2024 in Edinburgh this week, defeating Switzerland’s Landro Wagle in the final while remaining undefeated throughout the tournament, a non-government organization sponsoring him said on Tuesday.
The Scottish Junior Open 2024 was held from Dec. 28 to 30, featuring players from 22 countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Egypt and the United States.
“Azlan Ali Khan has emerged as the champion of the 2024 Scottish Junior Open Championship,” Muslim Hands Pakistan, Khan’s sponsor, said in a statement. “Azan Ali Khan defeated Switzerland’s Landro Wagle in the final to win the title.”
Muslim Hands Pakistan, a branch of the UK-based charity, works to alleviate poverty, sickness and lack of education in the country. It operates over 335 schools, serving more than 25,000 students and runs projects in health care, water, sanitation and vocational training.
Khan dedicated his victory to Pakistan’s out-of-school children. The South Asian country has a population 22.8 million out-of-school children aged 5-16 years, making Pakistan the country with the second-highest number of out-of-school children.
Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Youth Program, congratulated Khan, his coach and team manager on the achievement.
“Azan Ali Khan is now preparing for the next stage and will compete in the British Open World Junior Squash Championship,” Muslim Hands said. “The British Open World Junior Squash Championship will be held from January 2 to January 6 in Birmingham.”
Religio-political party vows to continue Karachi sit-in protests district despite crackdown
- Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen party leads Karachi sit-in protests in solidarity with violence-hit northwestern Kurram district
- Police and paramilitary Rangers force fire tear gas to disperse protesters from various locations in Pakistan’s Karachi
KARACHI: Pakistani religio-political party Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) on Tuesday announced it would expand its sit-in protests, currently being held in Karachi in solidarity with the violence-hit Kurram district, to other parts of Sindh as law enforcers cracked down on protesters to clear the roads for traffic.
The MWM has been leading sit-in protests at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest against violence in the northwestern Kurram district. With a population of around 600,000, Kurram has been plagued by tribal and sectarian violence for decades. The region’s volatile security situation often necessitates travel in convoys escorted by security forces. However, a devastating ambush on November 21, in which gunmen killed 52 people, underscored the persistent dangers.
The attack escalated tensions in the district, resulting in violent clashes and road blockades that have severely disrupted access to essential supplies such as food, medicine, and fuel and claimed the lives of at least 136 people since November. A grand jirga— a traditional council of political and tribal elders— has been attempting to mediate between rival factions, but the unrest has spilled beyond Kurram.
“The sit-ins will continue until the issues of Parachinar are resolved,” MWM leader Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi, referring to Kurram district’s capital city, said in a statement. “I urge people to come out of their homes. We will extend the sit-ins from Karachi to Obaro [near the border with Punjab].”
Police and Rangers personnel used tear gas to disperse protesters in Kamran Chowrangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Abbas Town and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas of Karachi on Tuesday morning. Angry demonstrators set tires ablaze and pelted stones at law enforcement personnel in response.
Numerous protesters had been arrested during the crackdown, Naqvi alleged. However, a police spokesperson declined to confirm the arrests when approached for comment.
The MWM leader accused the Sindh government of practicing “double standards,” claiming that representatives of the provincial government expressed solidarity with demonstrators while simultaneously ordering law enforcers to clear protest sites forcefully.
“Last night, Sindh government representatives came to us and the issues [caused by road blockades] were resolved,” Naqvi said. “But this morning, peaceful sit-ins were attacked.”
Karachi police chief on Monday warned demonstrators of action if the protests continued to disrupt public life. The Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the MWM’s rival religious group, on Monday, threatened to hold protests at 60 locations in Karachi starting Tuesday if the MWM demonstrations did not end.
Last week, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also criticized MWM protesters for paralyzing the city.
“If the purpose of a protest is to inconvenience people, disrupt the city’s operations, block ambulances and fire brigades, or hinder police and administrative vehicles, then such actions are inappropriate,” Wahab said.
Meanwhile, the warring factions in Kurram are formally expected to reach a peace agreement today, Tuesday, as the grand jirga reconvenes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson said last week.
Militants attack security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2
- Militants kill police officer and civilian in attack on Dera Ismail Khan district, police say
- No group has claimed responsibility for incident but suspicion likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants armed with assault rifles attacked a security post in restive northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a police officer and a civilian, officials said.
Another officer was also wounded in the attack at the Draban Post in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Abdullah Khan said, adding that the civilian was an employee of the Customs department.
He also said security forces returned fire and that “a group of insurgents” fled the scene.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, who often target security forces across the country, especially in the former tribal regions in the troubled northwest bordering Afghanistan.
Security forces have also stepped up intelligence-based operations against the Pakistani Taliban, emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan to launch five-year National Economic Transformation Plan targeting sustainable growth today
- Economic transformation plan to focus on export-led growth so Pakistan escapes boom-bust economic cycle, says finmin
- Development takes place as Pakistan grapples with economic crisis that has triggered inflation, drained its foreign reserves
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government is set to launch its five-year homegrown National Economic Plan today, Tuesday, targeting sustainable growth and development in the long-term, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said amid Islamabad’s struggle to ward off its macroeconomic crisis.
Pakistan’s government has attempted to steer itself out of a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has weakened the South Asian country’s currency and drained its foreign exchange reserves over the past two years.
Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in July that the National Economic Plan will be based on the 5Es framework (exports, energy, economic growth, education and equality), adding that it would aim to foster stability and lay the foundation for future growth in Pakistan.
In a video message, Aurangzeb said the plan has been aptly titled “Uraan Pakistan” which means “Flying Pakistan,” and aims to take the country’s prevalent macroeconomic stability to sustainable growth.
“There are three to four key pillars of this [economic plan],” Aurangzeb said. “First of all, our growth will be export-led so that we do not go into the boom-bust cycle that we have been going through for the past few eras. Secondly, the private sector has to lead this country,” he added.
Pakistan agreed to a 37-month, $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, promising the lender financial reforms in exchange for it. These reforms include increasing the tax base, regulating the energy sector and handing over loss-making state owned enterprises to the private sector.
“The structural reforms that we have started, we have to take them through the finishing line,” the minister said. “Whether that is on the taxation side, whether its on the energy side, whether it’s our SOE reforms, whether it’s our privatization agenda.”
Aurangzeb vowed that the plan would put Pakistan on an upward economic trajectory in the next two to three years, saying it would ensure that this will be the last IMF program Islamabad resorts to.
The development takes place amid Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s increased efforts for greater collaboration in trade, defense, agriculture and other key sectors of the economy with regional allies to attract foreign investment and brighten Pakistan’s economic prospects.
In its move to attract foreign investment in key sectors, Pakistan has enhanced its bilateral trade and investment ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Central Asian states and other Gulf countries.
Pakistan suffered a sovereign default before Islamabad clinched a last-gasp $3 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023 that helped its economy stay afloat. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly said Islamabad needs to adopt an export-led economy to achieve long-term and sustainable economic growth.
Pakistan PM calls for collaborative efforts to stem polio amid alarming surge in cases
- Pakistan has so far reported 68 poliovirus cases this year, 27 of them from Balochistan
- Shehbaz Sharif says security of polio volunteers and vaccinators cannot be compromised
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for greater collaboration among the country’s health authorities to stem the spread of poliovirus, state-run media reported this week, as Pakistan witnesses an alarming surge in cases of the infection.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease. Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world.
Pakistan on Monday reported its 68th poliovirus case of the year when a child contracted the virus from the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district. Sharif spoke to the national anti-polio team on Monday regarding efforts to curb the spread of the disease.
“The Prime Minister said unfortunately, the number of polio-affected children is rising in Pakistan, which needs even more collaborative efforts,” the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.
Sharif noted that the use of technology in Pakistan’s health sectors, including polio eradication, is being increased to modernize public health care and achieve better results.
“He added that the security of polio workers cannot be compromised, and all possible measures should be taken in this regard,” Radio Pakistan said.
Of the 68 cases reported this year, 27 were from Balochistan, 20 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, according to Pakistan’s anti-polio program.
A sub-national polio vaccination campaign was conducted across Punjab, Sindh, KP, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad on December 16–22, vaccinating over 42 million children.
