ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday issued directions to various authorities for controlling the rising inflation while admitting that the high spike in inflation is being driven by petroleum and utility tariff hikes imposed due to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) terms for granting Pakistan a loan.
In this regard, a meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) was held to review the historic rise in inflation in the country. The meeting was jointly chaired by the Federal Minister of Planning Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of State for Finance Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha. The meeting was attended by the Chief Economist, Chief Statistics Office and other relevant officials.
The committee was informed that other factors such as the depreciation of the rupee, high international commodity prices and hoarding amplified the situation further.
While reviewing the prices of essential commodities, NPMC directed relevant stakeholders to keep a close watch on the prices of food commodities and take action against hoarders.
Ahsan Iqbal said that the government was taking effective measures to reduce the common man’s financial burden and prevent the rising inflation. “A meeting of the NPMC to monitor the prices will be held on a weekly basis for this,” he added. Ahsan also directed the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to share its data analysis report in every meeting besides regularly comparing the difference in wholesale and retail prices of essential food items in districts across the country with the help of the Ministry of Food and Industry.
The federal minister instructed stakeholders to closely monitor the price index and ensure the projection in order to develop a better policy to control future crises.
It may be recalled that the SBP has maintained the policy rate at 15% considering recent inflation. Meanwhile, in line with market expectations, domestic demand is going towards moderation while the external position is also showing some improvement.
To cool the overheating economy and contain the current account deficit (CAD), the policy rate has been raised by a cumulative 800 basis points since last September. Similarly, temporary administrative steps have recently been taken to curtail imports and the government has planned strong fiscal consolidation for FY23.
