Pakistan shopkeepers strike nationwide over inflation
The Hindu
Pakistan traders strike over soaring energy bills, IMF austerity measures. Shops closed in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar. Inflation at 27.4%, motor fuel bills up 8%.
Thousands of Pakistan traders shuttered their shops on Saturday, striking over soaring energy and fuel bills stirring widespread discontent ahead of national elections.
Decades of mismanagement and instability have hobbled Pakistan's economy, and this summer Islamabad was forced into a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avert default.
However, the global lender demanded that popular subsidies cushioning living costs be slashed. Petrol and electricity prices have rocketed.
There were widespread market closures on Saturday in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, where abandoned bazaars were posted with placards decrying "the unreasonable increase in electricity bills and taxes".
Also Read: Pakistan caretaker PM Anwarul Haq Kakar calls inflated electricity bills “non-issue”
"Everyone is participating because the situation has become unbearable now," Lahore's Township Traders Union president Ajmal Hashmi told AFP.
"Some relief must be given so people can put food on the table."
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