Pakistan economic crisis: As Pakistan is facing the worst-ever financial crisis, unemployment among young people has created a record, pushing the country into another havoc, Dawn reported on Saturday.
According to the Pakistani English Daily, more than 2,50,000 people lost their jobs since August 2022. Some even claimed the figure is above ten lakhs.
The report said millions of people lost their jobs in formal as well as informal sectors due to a massive decline in forex reserves. This prompted the country to slash its import of raw materials which eventually led to a record decline in industrial production.
Moreover, the media report claimed that surging power and gas bills also hampered the industrial sector.
Over 5 lakh lost their jobs in industrial sector
In four industrial sectors of Karachi and the countrywide auto vending units, stakeholders claimed that “over 5,00,000 people have faced joblessness.”
Quoting Site Association of Industry (SAI) president Riazuddin, it reported around 1,00,000 people out of the 5,00,000 in the Site area had lost their livelihood in different categories of industries, mainly from October 2022 to date.
However, he acknowledged that the food sector has done "exceptionally" well amid the fact the country is a Muslim-dominated state and a majority of the population purchases food items during Ramadan.
Pakistan economic crisis
It is worth mentioning that the country has been reeling under the worst economic crisis following a three-month flood that washed away nearly all major crops in the country. However, the situation was not "alright" for Pakistan even before the natural disaster hit the nation. According to multiple local media reports, edible oil was sold at Rs 600 per litre even in the first week of August and ghee at nearly Rs 700 per litre. The situation turned grimmer after the deadly floods, wherein more than 2,000 people were killed and thousands went missing.
In December, local media reported that the cost of cooking gas rose to Rs 1,200 per kg near Afgan border regions while the cost of flour went up to Rs 160-170 per kg.
Pakistan does not have much time to act
According to the official sources of the publication, the government does not have much time to act as foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are depleting at a rapid pace.
The reserves at the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2022 were around USD 10.309 billion, registering a drop of USD 7 billion in just seven months. The cataclysmic floods last year inundated a third of the country, displaced more than 33 million and caused economic damages to the tune of USD 12.5 billion to Pakistan’s already teetering economy.
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