Life out of gear in crisis-hit Pakistan as inflation edges to 48-year high

Islamabad: As cash-strapped Pakistan faltered and collapsed from one crisis to another, disappointed citizens have taken to the streets to protest against the government over a duel economic and political meltdown with little precedent in the nation’s post-independence history. The prevailing economic crisis has posed a serious challenge for the men on the street to struggle for survival with inflation rising to a record high in crisis-hit Pakistan. In Karachi, a bustling port city, surging inflation has battered local businesses. Muhammad Rashid, the owner of Rashid Seafood, said sales at his restaurant are down 50% this winter, reported Bloomberg News. “Now, our customer base is mostly from the business class,” Rashid said. “The rich are having no problem and continue to come here and eat seafood.” Pakistan’s inflation quickened to the fastest in almost 48 years in January as thousands of containers of food items, raw materials and equipment are stuck in ports after the cash-strapped government curtailed imports. The lanes are emptier at Total Parco Pakistan Ltd., a gas station in a busy part of Karachi. Irfan Ali, the manager, said he used to sell 15,000 liters a day when petrol went for 200 rupees a liter. Now, with the fuel at almost 250 rupees a liter that number is down to 13,000. Irfan Ali, gas station manager quoted as saying by  Bloomberg New. “We are managing from our margins, so we don’t lay off any of our staff,” Ali said. “Inflation will increase unemployment for sure,” he said. According to reports, most of the petrol pumps in the Punjab region of Pakistan ran out of petrol disrupting the routine life of people. In distant places where there have been no supplies for the pumps for more than a month, the situation is terrible, Dawn had reported. The country is also facing a power crisis, household items and a shortage of insulin for diabetes patients and the medical market in Karachi is getting worse. Apart from this, the shortage of other life-saving medicines also persists while there is a crisis of imported medicines from foreign countries. Talks for bailout money from the International Monetary Fund failed to yield a deal this week and will continue, providing no immediate reprieve. However, Pakistan has agreed with the International Monetary Fund last week on the conditions to release about $1.1 billion in critical funding. According to Geo-politik, Pakistan has taken fourteen loans from the IMF thus far, but ironically none of them has ever been completed. This, therefore, raises serious questions about the capacity and capability of the Pakistan state to get out of this dead-end. The world’s fifth most populous country has edged closer to a debt default, echoing the tales of Sri Lanka and Venezuela. The Pakistani Rupee has been on a steep slide for weeks. The Pakistani Rupee fell on 11 February fell to ₹271.50 per dollar in the inter-bank market, PK Revenue reported. Pakistan’s economy is in dire strait as its forex reserves fall below $3 billion (nine year low) as of 9 February. According to a report by Pkrevenue, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped to $2.917 billion. Simultaneously, Pakistan is facing hard times in securing a bailout package from the IMF. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.