Tuesday, 19 October, 2021 I 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 111 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
InflatIon-hIt people may expect relIef after fIve months: asad Umar
ISLAMABAD
a
Ghulam abbas
S the rising oil prices and devaluation of currency are adding to the woes of inflation-hit people, the government sees no immediate relief but claims people may expect improvement after five months. Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, while addressing a press conference on Monday ruled out “immediate relief” in rising commodity prices, saying it could take at least five months for the “abnormal increase” in global prices to head towards normalcy. Citing the international market prices as the reason for the inflation in Pakistan, the minister said this spell was not expected to subside before March 2022. “We hope people get relief soon, but, according to experts, the relief may not be visible immediately and actual improvement may be seen from March,” Umar told a press conference in Islamabad. Umar said once international commodity prices stabilised and the trend
headed towards normalisation, “the government will then be responsible to pass on that relief to the masses.” He said most experts had predicted a decline in commodity prices from March, while a few felt the reduction in prices could take as long as June to take effect. While stressing that the world is going through an “extraordinary” situation in terms of commodity prices, he said the rates of basic commodities were still lower in Pakistan compared to the rest of the world. The minister, however, admitted that purchasing power of people had been directly affected in Pakistan in view of soaring inflation in recent months. “The government is now set to roll out targeted subsidies to the masses and this is the best time to take this measure,” Umar said. He said the prime minister would unveil details of the subsidy programme in the next few days, and subsequently, after a month, people would start getting some relief. He stressed that economies all over
coronavIrUs In
pakIstan
ConfirMed Cases:
1,265,047
last updated at 7:08 aM on oCtober 18, 2021
day's death toll:
new Cases:
11
663
reCovered:
deaths:
1,210,897 28,280 sindh:
punjab:
465,819
437,974
kpk:
baloChistan:
176,886 ajk/gb:
33,128 islaMabad:
34,402/10,369
106,469
the world were shrinking due to which the “production and supply of essential items had been adversely affected and in some cases, was paralysed”. He said economies had reopened after the pandemic with limited availability of products in the market which had resulted in rising prices all over the world. “This is the reason, not just Pakistan faced an increase in prices, it happened across the world,” Umar said. The planning minister recalled that the government took measures during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and it opened industries in the first phase to keep the economic cycle going. He said the prices of crude oil, urea and sugar had drastically increased in the international market and Pakistan was feeling its impact. Recalling the tax rates on petroleum products during previous government led by PML-N, Asad Umar said, then government had charged tax worth as high as Rs 101 per liter and average of Rs 52 per liter during the whole tenure, but now it was less than half of the average tax of previous government, adding that at some stages, the present government had to charge zero PDL to pass on maximum relief to the people. The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan had already provided maximum relief in terms of taxes on the petroleum products and henceforth there would be little room in this regard.
Continued on page 05
People fed up, government on defensive editorial on page 06
DG-ISI briefs COAS on ‘internal security, Afghanistan’: ISPR Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters on Monday. Director General ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid received him, according to a statement from the military’s media wing. The COAS was briefed on “internal security and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan”, the statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated. The statement added that General Bajwa expressed his satisfaction over the preparedness of the organisation. It is pertinent to note that the Army chief’s visit to the ISI headquarters comes amidst an alleged standoff between the military and the government over the appointment of the new spymaster. In this regard, the army had an-
Rupee nosedives to fresh alltime low of 172.78 against dollar The Pakistani rupee fell to a new all-time low of 172.78 against the US dollar on Monday, breaching Thursday’s low of 171.13, amid uncertainty regarding resumption of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee shed Rs1.60 (-0.93 percent) as the US dollar opened at Rs171.18 and closed at Rs172.78. During intra-day trading in the inter-bank market, the rupee plummeted by a staggering Rs2.02 (-1.2 percent) against the US dollar to a record low of Rs173.2; however, it recovered some loss before the close of the session. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs172/173 per dollar. The local currency had closed at Rs171.18 on Friday, according to the data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). According to a report by Mettis Global, strong demand for the greenback as well as rising prices of crude oil in international markets were behind the latest round of erosion in the rupee’s value. The report further said that additional pressure on the rupee was created due to no timeframe determined for the conclusion of the ongoing negotiations between the government and the International Monetary Fund that has led to a delay in the release of the next tranche
from the Fund. Currency experts state that clarity on the talks will stabilise rupee. However, the mentioned that another reason for rupee depreciation was that the market opened after two weekly holidays and Tuesday is also a public holiday on account of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. Last week, speaking at the launch of the Kisan Portal, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the pressure on the Pakistani rupee is temporary and will be over soon. Media reports claim that Prime Minister Imran Khan is having a meeting on inflation and the economic situation in the country and is expected to make an important announcement regarding public relief in this meeting. It is pertinent to mention here that Fitch Ratings in September had revised down its forecasts for the Pakistani rupee for both this year and next due to a variety of factors including an increased flow of US dollars into neighbouring Afghanistan. For 2022, Fitch expects an average rate of 180 versus a previous forecast of 165. “Our expectation for the currency to weaken further is based on Pakistan’s worsening terms of trade, tighter U.S. monetary policy, alongside the flow of US dollars out of Pakistan and into Afghanistan,” it said. news desk
nounced on October 6 that the incumbent ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, had been posted as Peshawar Corps Commander, while Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum was appointed in his place as DG-ISI. However, the Prime Minister’s Office has not yet issued an official notification of Lt Gen Anjum’s appointment, leading to rumours about issues in civil-military ties. Chaudhry had said that PM Imran Khan and the army chief had a “long sitting” the previous night to discuss the matter and the premier had subsequently taken the cabinet into confidence over the issue. “Gen Bajwa and the prime minister have close and cordial relations. And it is also important from a historical perspective that there are ideal relations between Pakistan’s civilian and military leaderships,” he had added. news desk
more inside
‘All matters have been resolved’: Fawad on civil, military relations story on baCk page
Shehbaz Sharif grills Imran Khan over skyrocketing inflation
story on baCk page
notice as per apns direction, the offices of pakistan today will remain closed on october 19 on the occasion of eid Milad-un-nabi. the paper will not be published on october 20.