Food and debt crises
\n Islamabad
\nThe Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Saturday said inflation and growing insecurity of basic necessities is increasing instability in Pakistan.
\nPeople have been killed and injured in stampedes at sites distributing free flour under a government-backed scheme to help families struggling with soaring costs of basic staples, it said.
\nThousands of bags of flour had also been looted from trucks and distribution points by people which indicates the desperation among the masses, said Dr. Hanif Mughal, SVP of PEW.
\nThe country is cash-strapped, inflation is very high, forex reserves are insufficient and currency is depreciating which is a perfect recipe for civil disorder, he added.
\nHe noted that floods have exacerbated the food crisis as they destroyed large swathes of crops while affected people are still waiting for any meaningful support from the government.
\nAn estimated 800,000 hectares of agricultural land was wiped out driving up food prices in the country which is already struggling with inflation, he added.
\nHanif Mughal said that presently more than 3.4 million children face chronic hunger while malnutrition among the poor has become more prevalent across the country.
\nPakistan is facing a serious food and debt crisis and water stress has become widespread impacting women and girls that are responsible for water collection. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Food and debt crises Islamabad The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Saturday said inflation and growing insecurity of basic necessities is increasing instability in Pakistan. People have been killed and injured in stampedes at sites distributing free flour under a government-backed scheme to help families struggling with soaring costs of basic staples, it said. Thousands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-323318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n