Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose tenure was packed with political and economic turbulences, was reportedly attacked by furious citizens in Lahore on Wednesday night.
The locals who stopped the convoy of Sharif allegedly broke the windshield of his vehicle and charged him for the pathetic situation in the country. The protestors outburst his tenure, raised slogans against his "corrupt" governance and accused him of letting the country plunge into an economic crisis.
Pakistan economic cris
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.
Earlier 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. In fact, after the caretaker government came into power, it inflated the prices of crude oil twice. Currently, high-speed diesel and petrol are sold above the Rs 300 mark.
Besides, the government has recently raised the prices of electricity despite the citizens complaining of overpriced bills.
Unemployment soared
Notably, Pakistan is heading towards general elections, where the local media reports claimed that the citizens are now fed up with corruption, terrorism, political nepotism and other pressing issues.
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 the 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.
