Pakistan: As economic woes deepen, citizens continue to struggle from soaring inflation, unemployment crisis
Sep 15, 2024
Karachi [Pakistan], September 15 : Amid worsening economic conditions in Pakistan, the people continue to suffer from economic hardships, especially rampant inflation and the unemployment crisis, which has made even basic facilities and essentials remain out of their reach.
A Karachi resident, Ashraf Khan, lamented the current situation and said the economic woes are causing damage to people with their incomes falling continuously.
"The current economic situation in Pakistan is causing damage to the people and all this is due to wrong actions and decisions of the government. The government may say that the inflation rates are falling in Pakistan but, it is even more crucial to consider that, what is the purchasing power of the people in the country and what is the status of the job market," Khan said.
"The income of the common public today continues to fall due to fewer jobs in the market. The people have been suffering from high inflation in Pakistan for so long that the so-called claims of the government of reduced inflation are not visible at all," he added.
Lamenting the economic downfall, he further stated that the Pakistani government needs to understand that the non-productive expenditure has reached an "extreme" level and it doesn't seem to be getting better any time soon.
"We have not considered, how will we manage our governmental expenses. We have not started any developmental projects and we have not received any foreign direct investment for a long time. I believe that no single government can be blamed for this critical economic condition of the economy. It is an ongoing pattern of bad and wrong decisions"," he stated.
Khan also claimed that the public sector units of Pakistan have been involved in corruption with no accountability no checks and enquiries of the culprits.
He added, "Some developmental projects that somehow had come to our country are now either closed or are about close because of an unstable political environment in Pakistan and rampant terrorism. Even the rising number of protests in various parts of the country also demonstrates that the public is frustrated and agitated with the government."
In addition to rampant inflation, the rise in the youth population in Pakistan has also presented the situation of an employment crisis in Pakistan, ARY News reported.
The employment crisis in Pakistan persists amid growing economic challenges. Recently, the Planning Commission briefed the Senate Committee on Planning and highlighted economic challenges in Pakistan, including rising youth unemployment.
During the meeting, officials said that the slow economic growth, rapid rise in population and a lack of job opportunities are obstructing development in Pakistan, as reported by ARY News. Chairperson Quratul Ain voiced concerns over the alarming rate of rise in population, stressing the need for urgent control measures.
The Planning Commission stressed that Pakistan's GDP growth stands at 3.5 per cent, which is lower than the required 7 per cent for sustained economic development.