KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed an unprecedented surge of 3.68 percent in weekly inflation during the last five working days, according to official data, as food and energy prices continued to spiral internationally.
Inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) increased by 3.68 percent from 3.38 percent recorded a week before. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the weekly inflation on an annual basis recorded the highest increase of 37.67 percent.
Pakistan is currently experiencing high inflationary pressure due to a rapid depreciation of its national currency.
The government has also increased fuel and electricity prices multiple times since coming into power in April after ousting former prime minister Imran khan in a no-confidence vote.
Financial experts expect the country to face significant inflationary pressure during the current fiscal year.
“As per our expectations so far, the average inflation will remain between 18 and 19 percent during the current fiscal year [FY23],” Muhammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage firm, told Arab News on Sunday.
The previous administration of Khan, which originally negotiated a $6 billion bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Pakistan, decided to freeze petroleum and electricity prices by going against its commitment to the global lending agency.
However, the new coalition government uncapped the energy prices after assuming the office in April, ending subsidies and raising petroleum prices multiple times to secure the revival of the stalled IMF program.
The government’s tough economic decisions also had an impact on the weekly inflation determined after monitoring the rates of 51 basic products. The prices of 30 of these commodities increased during the week, seven decreased and 14 remained stable.
On a yearly basis, the weekly prices of diesel were up by 101.53 percent, petrol 94.15 percent, pulse masoor 99.14 percent, chicken 75.65 percent and five-liter cooking oil 74.81 percent among other food and nonfood items.
Pakistan’s monthly inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded at 21.3 percent on a year-on-year basis in June 2022, the highest since 2008, as compared to an increase of 13.8 percent during the previous month and 9.7 percent in June 2021.
“The inflation will take time to cool down since the prices of petroleum products along with gas and electricity tariffs are likely to further increase,” Samiullah Tariq, director research at the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News. “I believe inflation will remain high in near term and come down after December this year.”
The country’s central bank has already predicted that inflation will remain elevated during the current fiscal year and remain around 18 to 20 percent due to the large supply shock associated with the necessary reversal of fuel and electricity subsidies.
However, the bank hopes the inflation will sharply decline during the next fiscal year (FY24).
Pushed by food and energy prices, Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to record 3.68 percent
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Pushed by food and energy prices, Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to record 3.68 percent
- Rising global food and energy prices, record rupee depreciation key contributors to high inflation in Pakistan
- Central bank and financial experts expect inflation to hover around 20 percent in the current fiscal year
New Zealand outclass Pakistan to win 4th T20I
- Opener Tim Robinson hit a half-century to ensure New Zealand reached 178-7 in 20 overs
- Pacer William O’ Rourke returned figures of 3-27 to keep Pakistan down to 174-8 in 20 overs
LAHORE: Experienced allrounder Jimmy Neesham kept his cool to defend six off the last ball to clinch a four-run victory for New Zealand on Thursday in the fourth Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Lahore.
Pakistan needed 18 off the last over in their chase of 179 but Neesham came out in flying colors despite being hit for a boundary off the first ball, giving a packed Qaddafi Stadium crowd heartbreaks.
Opener Tim Robinson hit a maiden half century to lift New Zealand to 178-7 in 20 overs before pacer William O’Rourke claimed 3-27 to keep Pakistan down to 174-8.
Returning allrounder Imad Wasim (22 not out) managed to hit the last ball for a single as New Zealand take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the last game on Saturday, also in Lahore.
Pakistan also lost the third match by seven wickets after winning the first by the same margin while the first match was abandoned after just two balls — all three in Rawalpindi.
The defeats are a jolt to a full-strength Pakistan side in their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.
New Zealand, missing a host of players due to Indian Premier League, injuries and unavailability, can feel elated at their bench strength going into the World Cup.
Pakistan sensed they were in with a chance when Fakhar Zaman, who made 45-ball 61 with three sixes and four boundaries, lifted Pakistan from 79-4 with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed who made a 20-ball 23.
But O’Rourke, playing only his fourth T20I, dismissed Ahmed to add to his wickets of Babar Azam (five) and Saim Ayub (20) to give New Zealand a boost.
Fellow pacer Ben Sears (2-27) claimed Zaman’s wicket with 33 needed off 14 balls.
Earlier, Robinson batted with aggression.
Robinson’s 36-ball 51 with two sixes and four fours lifted New Zealand — who were sent in to bat — to 93-1 in 10 overs before Abbas Afridi’s career best 3-20 helped Pakistan pull back.
New Zealand started briskly with Robinson and Tom Blundell, who made 28 off 15, putting on 56 for the opening stand in five overs.
But from 94-1 New Zealand lost three wickets, including that of dangerman Mark Chapman for eight, as Pakistan’s fielders held catches to back some good bowling by Abbas.
Dean Foxcroft chipped in with 34 off 26 deliveries and skipper Michael Bracewell added 27 to keep the scoreboard ticking as New Zealand managed 43 in the last five overs.
Pakistan were forced to make five changes as wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Muhammad Irfan Khan were injured while they rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.
Pakistani, US officials discuss ways to enhance bilateral trade and investment
- Pakistani, American officials hold inter-sessional meeting under Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
- Both sides discussed regulatory practices, digital trade, textiles and investments, says US Embassy in Pakistan
KARACHI: Pakistani and American officials held an inter-sessional meeting under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Thursday, with both sides discussing options to enhance bilateral trade and investment, the US Embassy in Islamabad said in a statement.
TIFA serves as a platform for Pakistan and the US to improve market access, promote bilateral trade and investment, resolve trade disputes, and work on trade-related issues between the two countries.
Pakistan and the US took part in high-level trade talks in Feb. 2023 when both countries participated in the 9th Pakistan-United States Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting. That meeting took place after seven years.
As per a statement by Acting US Mission Spokesperson Thomas Montgomery, both sides discussed a “broad range of areas” to enhance bilateral trade and investment on Thursday.
“The dialogue focused on good regulatory practices, digital trade, the protection of intellectual property, women’s economic empowerment, labor, textiles, investment, and agricultural issues,” Montgomery said.
He added the discussions also included progress on access for US biotechnology products and beef.
The US official said that the meeting was key for both countries to move forward on shared goals of deepening their economic relationship.
“The United States has long been Pakistan’s largest export market, with potential for further growth,” he said, adding that the US has been a leading investor in Pakistan for the past 20 years.
Pakistan’s relationship with Washington has experienced fluctuations over the decades, characterized by periods of close partnership and notable estrangement.
Despite Islamabad’s recent initiatives to enhance and deepen its ties with Washington, until recently, President Joe Biden’s administration had remained reluctant to engage with Pakistan’s top leadership.
Ties between the two countries have improved since former prime minister Imran Khan’s government was ousted via a parliamentary vote on Apr. 2022. Khan had accused Washington of colluding with his political rivals to oust him from power via a “foreign conspiracy.” Washington has consistently denied the allegations.
Pakistan’s defense minister rejects claim ex-PM Khan being pressurized to accept ‘deal’
- Chairman of Khan’s party this week said cricketer-turned-politician was being kept in jail so he would agree to a “deal” with the government
- Khan, who has been in jail since August last year after multiple convictions, has vowed not to agree to a “deal” with his political adversaries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Thursday rejected claims that former prime minister Imran Khan was being pressurized to accept a “deal” and come to the negotiating table with the government.
Khan, who was prime minister from 2018-2022, remains jailed in multiple cases, including a 14-year jail sentence for him and his wife for the illegal sale of state gifts. Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military after he was ousted from office via a parliamentary vote in Apr. 2022.
Asif was responding to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan’s interaction with reporters on Tuesday when he said that the way the former prime minister and his wife were being kept in jail, “these are all [forms of] pressure that Khan somehow agrees to a deal.”
Speaking exclusively to Independent Urdu, Asif rejected claims Khan was being pressurized to come to the negotiating table.
“There is no such thing,” Asif said, claiming that PTI leaders were issuing such statements to stay relevant. “That is why these statements are being issued. There is no truth to them.”
Asif said senior members of the PTI had given statements recently rejecting the possibility of a deal with the government.
“Now if their leadership is issuing contradictory statements themselves, then what comment do we give on it,” he said. “I think their contradictory statements are validating our point.”
Khan’s multiple convictions mean he is banned from holding public office and ruled the 71-year-old out of general elections earlier this year. Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says all cases against him are motivated to keep him out of politics.
Elephant Madhubala to be shifted to Karachi’s Safari Park in May— state media
- Madhubala has been in solitary confinement since April 2023 when her companion, elephant Noor Jehan, died
- International animal rights organization warns solitary confinement has taken a toll on Madhubala’s mental health
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani elephant Madhubala, who has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since last year, will be shifted to Karachi’s Safari Park in May where she will be in the company of two other elephants, state-run media Associated Press of Pakistan reported on Thursday.
Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants alive in Pakistan, was brought to the South Asian country with three other elephants from Tanzania in 2009. However, has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April 2023 after her companion, elephant Noor Jehan passed away from illness.
International animal rights organization FOUR PAWS, which has been involved in efforts to have Madhubala relocated to Karachi Safari Park, said last week the solitary confinement has taken a strong toll on her mental condition, with boredom being her biggest stressor.
Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as the Safari Park.
“According to Zoo administration, the arrangements for the transfer have been completed,” APP said. “Madhubala will join two other elephants, Sonia and Malika after relocation to Safari Park.”
A FOUR PAWS spokesperson said the organization was thrilled to see Madhubala finally getting the treatment she deserves.
“Her story is a testament to the power of collaboration and the importance of animal welfare,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by APP.
FOUR PAWS says the elephant enclosures at Safari Park would have water elements for bathing, skincare and thermoregulation. Enrichments such as hay nets, varying substrates like soil, sand, clay, and sawdust will be provided for Madhubala to dust bathe while the area is secured by elephant-proof fencing.
Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant is currently being trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it.
‘Politically motivated’: Pakistan rejects US State Department report on rights abuses
- Annual assessment identified arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances
- Pakistan government and state agencies deny involvement in missing persons cases, other rights abuses
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it “categorically” rejected the 2023 country report on human rights practices issued by the US State Department, saying the report was politically motivated, lacking in objective evidence and followed an agenda of “politicization of international human rights.”
The annual human rights assessment released earlier this week identified arbitrary killings, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, torture and “cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents” in Pakistan last year.
The report also said the government “rarely took credible steps” to identify and punish officials who may have committed rights abuses.
“The contents of the report are unfair, based on inaccurate information and are completely divorced from the ground reality,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement, adding that the assessment used a “domestic social lens to judge human rights in other countries in a politically biased manner.”
“This year’s report is once again conspicuous by its lack of objectivity and politicization of the international human rights agenda. It clearly demonstrates double standards thus undermining the international human rights discourse.”
The foreign office said it was “deeply concerning” that a report purported to highlight human rights issues around the world was ignoring or downplaying the “most urgent hotspots of gross human rights violations” like Gaza and Kashmir. It also called on the US demonstrate the “requisite moral courage” to speak the truth about all situations and play a constructive role in supporting international efforts to end human rights violations.
“In line with its constitutional framework and democratic ethos, Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthen its own human rights framework, constructively engage to promote international human rights agenda, and uphold fairness and objectivity in the international human rights discourse,” the FO added.
Political leaders, rights groups and families of victims have long accused the government, the army and intelligence agencies of being behind cases of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, among other rights abuses. Families say people picked up by security forces on the pretext of fighting militancy or crime often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani state agencies deny involvement in such cases.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s law minister said the government would reconstitute a committee to address enforced disappearances, hours after the release of the US report.
“Now the work is being initiated on this again on the directives of the prime minister. A committee is going to be reconstituted, there will be parliamentary presence in that committee,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said.
“There is no lack of seriousness on the government’s part to resolve this issue.”
