ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), has risen to 5.08 percent in Pakistan on a year-on-year basis, the country’s statistics bureau said this week, with an increase observed in prices of edible items.
The SPI, which comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country.
The SPI for the week ending on Dec. 26 increased by 0.80 percent as compared to the previous week, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This is the third time short-term has increased in the South Asian country. Weekly inflation last decreased by 0.34 percent in Pakistan in the week ending on Dec. 5.
“During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 17 (33.33 percent) items increased, 10 (19.61 percent) items decreased and 24 (47.06 percent) items remained stable,” it said in a report.
Major increase was observed in prices of chicken (22.47 percent), tomatoes (20.75 percent), sugar (2.19 percent), vegetable ghee 1 kilogram (1.17 percent), firewood (0.95 percent), cooking oil 5 liter (0.74 percent), cooked beef and mustard oil (0.69 percent) each, liquefied petroleum gas (0.18 percent) and washing soap (0.09 percent).
The items that recorded a decrease in prices included onions (8.13 percent), potatoes (2.38 percent), bananas (0.68 percent), rice (0.50 percent) and eggs (0.30 percent).
Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November, lower than the government’s forecast, according to the PBS. The finance ministry had projected inflation would slow to 5.8 percent-6.8 percent in November and ease to 5.6 percent-6.5 percent in December.
Consumer inflation cooled from 7.2 percent in October, a sharp drop from a multi-decade high of nearly 40 percent in May 2023.
Pakistan weekly inflation increases for third week in a row
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Pakistan weekly inflation increases for third week in a row
- Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November, lower than the government’s forecast
- Major increase observed in prices of chicken, tomatoes, sugar, vegetable ghee, liquefied petroleum gas and soap
Pakistan and India hold high-level huddles as ties plummet following deadly attack
- Gunmen killed 26 men at tourist site in Pahalgam area of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday
- India alleges cross-border involvement, suspends water treaty, closes only land crossing between the neighbors
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan convened a meeting of its National Security Committee (NSC) while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a meeting with all opposition parties on Thursday, as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals plummeted following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir.
On Tuesday, gunmen killed 26 men at a tourist site in the Pahalgam area of Indian-administered Kashmir in the worst attack on civilians in the country in nearly two decades. Speaking to media on Wednesday evening, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said there was cross-border involvement in the attack and New Delhi would suspend a six-decade-old river-sharing treaty as well as close the only land crossing between the neighbors.
India would also pull out its defense attaches in Pakistan and reduce staff size at its mission in Islamabad to 30 from 55, Misri said.
India has summoned the top diplomat in the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi, Indian media reported on Thursday, to give notice that all defense advisers in the Pakistani mission were persona non grata and given a week to leave, one of the measures Misri announced on Wednesday.
In Islamabad, a meeting of the National Security Committee began on Thursday afternoon to finalize the country’s response to New Delhi’s escalatory actions.
“The meeting will be attended by senior civil and military leadership to deliberate upon internal and external situation arising after the Pahalgam false flag operation,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported, implying that the attack was committed by India itself with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on Islamabad.
Ahead of the meeting, Pakistan denounced India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty as an act of “water warfare,” with Pakistan’s Power Minister Awais Leghari writing on X:
“Every drop is ours by right, and we will defend it with full force — legally, politically and globally.”
The Indus water treaty, mediated by the World Bank and signed in 1960, split the Indus River and its tributaries between the neighbors and regulated the sharing of water. It had withstood two wars between the neighbors since then and severe strains in ties at other times.
The treaty is critical for Pakistan, a lower-riparian state whose food security and agricultural productivity depend on consistent access to these waters, especially as the country faces worsening climate vulnerability and erratic monsoon cycles.
“ENDS OF THE EARTH”
Diplomatic relations between neighboring Pakistan and India were weak even before the latest measures were announced as Pakistan had expelled India’s envoy and not posted its own ambassador in New Delhi after India revoked the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir in 2019.
India and Pakistan control separate parts of Kashmir and both claim it in full.
India has often accused Pakistan of involvement in an insurgency in Kashmir, but Islamabad says it only offers diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since the uprising began in 1989, but it has tapered off in recent years and tourism has surged in the scenic region.
Police in India’s Kashmir published notices on Thursday naming three suspected militants “involved in” Tuesday’s attack and announced rewards for information leading to their arrest.
Two of the three suspected militants are Pakistani nationals, the notices said.
Modi, in his first speech since the attack in the Himalayan region, vowed on Thursday to punish all those responsible.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” the Indian prime minister said. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
– With inputs from Reuters
India PM vows to pursue Kashmir attackers to ‘ends of the Earth’
- Modi’s statement comes after 26 people were shot dead at the tourist hotpot of Pahalgam
- He promised to make the perpetrators ‘pay beyond their imagination’ in a speech to a crowd
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Thursday to punish all those responsible for a gruesome attack in Kashmir that killed 26 men.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said in his first speech since Tuesday’s attack in the Himalayan region. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
The shooting in the tourist hotpot of Pahalgam was the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested Muslim-majority territory since 2000.
Of the men killed, 26 were Indian and one was Nepali.
India accused Islamabad on Wednesday of supporting “cross-border terrorism” and downgraded ties with its neighbor with a raft of diplomatic measures.
Pakistan has denied any role in the Pahalgam attack.
Modi, who was speaking in Bihar state to launch development projects, first led two minutes of silence in memory of those killed.
“I say this unequivocally: whoever has carried out this attack, and the ones who devised it, will be made to pay beyond their imagination,” he said, speaking in Hindi in front of a large crowd.
“They will certainly pay. Whatever little land these terrorists have, it’s time to reduce it to dust. The willpower of 1.4 billion Indians will break the backbone of these terrorists.”
He finished his speech with rare comments in English, directing them to an audience abroad.
“Terrorism will not go unpunished,” Modi said. “Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done.”
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the high-altitude territory in full but governing separate portions of it.
Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Indian security forces have launched a vast manhunt in Kashmir for the attackers, with large numbers of people detained in the operation.
Punjab to track listed extremists with GPS devices amid rising militant violence in Pakistan
- The province’s home department has approved the deployment of 1,500 tracking devices in the first phase
- The decision will help enable round-the-clock surveillance of Fourth Schedule individuals with tracking bands
ISLAMABAD: Amid an uptick in militant attacks in Pakistan, authorities in Punjab have approved the use of electronic tracking devices to monitor individuals listed under the country’s Fourth Schedule as security risks, the provincial home department said on Thursday.
The Fourth Schedule of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act includes the names of individuals suspected of involvement in militant or sectarian violence. Those placed on the list are subjected to intense scrutiny and movement restrictions.
Under the new policy, GPS-enabled tracking bands will be attached to these individuals, allowing round-the-clock monitoring of their movements.
“This is a major decision aimed at enhancing surveillance using globally recognized practices,” the Punjab Home Department said in a statement, adding that new devices equipped with advanced micro-tracking chips would also be imported.
The devices will be distributed among the province’s key security agencies, including the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Crime Control Department and the Parole Department.
According to the statement, a high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Home Secretary Noor-ul-Amin Mengal approved the deployment of 1,500 tracking devices in the first phase.
Of these, 900 will be allocated to the CTD, 500 to the Crime Control Department and 100 to the Parole Department.
The decision follows expert recommendations advocating continuous surveillance of high-risk individuals and the adoption of internationally accepted tools for law enforcement and counterterrorism.
The development comes amid a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan. While such violence has largely remained confined to the two western provinces bordering Afghanistan, Punjab, the country’s most populous region, also remains vulnerable, with militants in the past targeting cities like Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan calls for revival of multilateralism at UN amid rising global tensions
- Ambassador Ahmad highlights the unraveling of longstanding norms supporting global peace
- He says international trade should reflect the aspirations and needs of developing countries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, urged the international community to reaffirm it commitment to multilateralism and collective action during a Security Council meeting convened by China on Wednesday.
An informal session, the meeting provided a platform to the member states to discuss the challenges posed by unilateral actions in the current global context.
Ambassador Ahmad highlighted the unraveling of longstanding norms that underpin global peace and cooperation, emphasizing the need to revive faith in multilateralism.
“History reminds us that enduring peace and sustainable solutions have never come from unilateral actions or coercive practices,” he said. “They emanate from inclusion, respect, shared purpose and unified responses.”
The Pakistani diplomat also called for reforms in the international trading system to better reflect the aspirations and needs of developing countries.
“Trade should be a bridge, not a barrier — a vehicle for peace and shared prosperity, not domination or isolation,” he added.
Ahmad underscored the importance of empowering the UN to lead global development cooperation and champion equitable systems of trade, finance and climate governance.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering belief in multilateralism and the central role of the world body in fostering a fairer, more peaceful and compassionate international order.
The UN meeting was held at a time when the international community faces increasing polarization, with wars, inequality, economic instability and climate change threatening global peace and security.
India calls all-party meet, summons top Pakistani diplomat after Kashmir attack on tourists
- The development follows the killing of 26 people at a tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir
- New Delhi has further downgraded diplomatic ties, alleging cross-border involvement from Pakistan
MUMBAI: India has summoned the top Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi, local media reported on Thursday, a day after it announced measures to downgrade ties with Islamabad as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals plummeted following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir.
A day after suspected militants killed 26 men at a tourist destination in Kashmir in the worst attack on civilians in the country in nearly two decades, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said there was cross-border involvement in the attack and New Delhi would suspend a six-decade old river-sharing treaty as well as close the only land crossing between the neighbors.
India will also pull out its defense attaches in Pakistan and also reduce staff size at its mission in Islamabad to 30 from 55, Misri said.
India has summoned the top diplomat in the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi, local media reported, to give notice that all defense advisers in the Pakistani mission were persona non grata and given a week to leave, one of the measures Misri announced on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting with opposition parties on Thursday, to brief them on the government’s response to the attack.
In Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was scheduled to hold a meeting of the National Security Committee to discuss Pakistan’s response, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X.
The Indus water treaty, mediated by the World Bank, split the Indus River and its tributaries between the neighbors and regulated the sharing of water. It had so far withstood even wars between the neighbors.
India would hold the treaty in abeyance, Misri said.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were weak even before the latest measures were announced as Pakistan had expelled India’s envoy and not posted its own ambassador in New Delhi after India revoked the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir in 2019.
Tuesday’s attack is seen as a setback to what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party have projected as a major achievement in revoking the special status Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed and bringing peace and development to the long-troubled Muslim-majority region.
