WASHINGTON, Sep 2(ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against protests and instability in Pakistan amid rising inflation — which just hit a 47-year-high in August.
Pakistan’s inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) has hit a 47-year high, accelerating to 27.3% in August 2022, the level last seen in May 1975. The full impact of massive flooding on the prices of food items and other commodities is yet to come.
“High food and fuel prices could prompt social protest and instability,” the IMF said, in an executive summary of the seventh and eighth reviews, released under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The IMF Executive Board earlier this week approved the seventh and eighth review of the stalled $6 billion Pakistan programme, and two days later on Wednesday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received the much-needed $1.16 billion deposit.
