As inflation bites, Karachiites faced with choice between Eid shopping or bills

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Updated 09 April 2024
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As inflation bites, Karachiites faced with choice between Eid shopping or bills

  • Pakistan Chainstore Association expects Eid sales to shrink by about 10-20 percent due to rising food, fuel costs
  • Traders say while markets still buzzing with people, there are fewer “genuine buyers” and more window shoppers 

KARACHI: With the Eid Al-Fitr holiday around the corner, biting inflation and rising utility bills have forced many residents in Pakistan’s commercial hub of Karachi to forgo holiday shopping, with traders’ representatives predicting an up to 20 percent dip in sales compared to last year. 

Buying new clothes, shoes and accessories is an integral part of Eid Al-Fitr festivities for most Pakistanis each year, or at least those who can afford it. Men wear long-sleeved kameez shalwar suits while women opt for vibrantly colored and embroidered kurtas and ankle-length skirts known as lehengas and ghararas. 

But this month, with Pakistan’s fragile $350 billion economy in crisis, inflation hovering above 20.68 percent year-on-year has put a damper on Eid shopping sprees. 

“Last year there was a lower figure [for Eid sales] which was estimated to be around Rs20 billion [$72.1 million] based on sales in Karachi,” Atiq Mir, chairman of the All Karachi Tahir Ittehad, an umbrella of major business centers in the southern port city, told Arab News. 

“I think this year the figure will be even lower than last year.”

Mir said people from the middle- and lower-middle classes were struggling to afford clothes for their children this Eid. 

“That is because I think the economy of the country is falling, jobs are disappearing and there are no prospects for new jobs,” Mir lamented. “It is a disillusioned public’s Eid that may eat away the happiness of many.”




Women browse traditional artificial jewelry while they visit a market to shop for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebrations, in Karachi, Pakistan, on April 7, 2024. (AP)

Rana Tariq Mehboob, chairman of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), a representative body of over 200 brands in Pakistan operating more than 20,000 outlets nationwide, estimated that high inflation had dented Eid shopping by about 20 percent.

“We estimate that sales have shrunk by about 10-20 percent,” Mehboob said, “because fuel, electricity, and grocery costs have increased.”

Forty percent of Pakistanis now live below the poverty line, up from 39.9 percent in the last fiscal year, a World Bank report released last week said, adding that nearly 10 million people were hovering near the poverty line and risked falling below it.

Pakistan has been caught in a high inflationary spiral since April 2022, with the highest ever inflation rate recorded at 38 percent in May 2023. The government credits soaring inflation to painful decisions it had to take to meet conditions for an IMF bailout program, including hiking energy tariffs and fuel prices.

Gas and electricity rates were hiked by 318.7 percent and 73 percent respectively in a year, according to official data.

“TO SHOP OR EAT”

Pakistani traders at the city’s busy Saddar shopping area said though Karachi’s markets were crowded closer to the Eid holiday, there were fewer “genuine buyers” and more window shoppers. 

“It is obvious that people are receiving higher utility bills which are more than their grocery bills,” Mansur ul Arfeen, a trader, told Arab News. “If they pay those bills first, how will they afford other things?”

“Where they used to buy three suits before, now they are buying only one because their purchasing power is very low,” cloth merchant Suresh Kumar said. “They are mostly going to low category markets because this is relatively expensive stuff here [in Saddar].”

Noreen Sabah, a housewife, complained her budget for Eid clothes was not enough to match prices:

“We came with a budget of Rs1,500-Rs2,000 [$5.4 to $7.21] per children’s dress but we realized the prices were completely out of budget.”

Customer Danish Raza also said high expenses had forced him to only shop for his children this year, rather than for himself, his wife or others in his family. 

“Inflation has increased so much,” he said, “that you are left with the option to either shop or eat.”


‘Big lie,’ says Pakistan on New Delhi’s accusations it tried to strike inside India

Updated 9 sec ago
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‘Big lie,’ says Pakistan on New Delhi’s accusations it tried to strike inside India

  • India says “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to strike military targets with drones, missiles on Thursday
  • Pakistan army said it had downed 29 Israeli-manufactured Harop drones launched from India overnight

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday described New Delhi’s accusations that Pakistan had tried to carry out strikes inside India overnight as a “big lie,” after India said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.

Fighting has escalated between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors since Wednesday when India struck multiple locations in Pakistan in response to a deadly April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on its neighbor.

Pakistan, which denies any link to the Kashmir violence, said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation. Thursday brought more violence as Pakistan said it had downed 29 Israeli-manufactured Harop drones launched from India overnight and New Delhi said Islamabad had launched an air attack using “drones and missiles” before it retaliated to destroy an air defense system in Lahore.

“Today, a politically based and motivated story was issued that last night Pakistan attacked different Indian military installations and military areas. It’s a big lie. It’s a very big lie,” Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, told reporters.

He said India had “concocted” the story to justify attempting to carry out waves of drone attacks inside Pakistan.

“What they did today [sending drones], from Islamabad to South Pakistan till Karachi, in at least two dozen places, is shameful, regretful and condemnable,” Dar added.

The foreign minister’s press conference followed a statement by India’s defense ministry that said Pakistan on Thursday morning “attempted to engage a number of military targets ... using drones and missiles,” which were “neutralized” by air defense systems.

New Delhi said areas targeted included sites in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s Punjab state, including the key cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, as well as Bhuj in Gujarat state.

“The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations,” it added.

The defense ministry said in retaliation, its military had “targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” saying the “response has been in the same domain, with the same intensity, as Pakistan.”

It added that it had been “reliably learnt that an air defense system at Lahore has been neutralized.”

People gather in front of the shattered glasses of a restaurant outside the Rawalpindi cricket stadium after an alleged drone was shot down in Rawalpindi on May 8, 2025. (AFP)

Dar, and military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, have both rejected the claim.

“29 drones so far have been neutralized,” Chaudhry said at the press conference alongside Dar.

“Only one managed to partially engage its target for which it came. Some equipment was damaged and four soldiers were injured.”

He said three civilians had been killed and four injured during the exchange.

The conflict between India and Pakistan has been confined in recent decades mostly to the disputed mountainous region of Kashmir. But the air strikes on Wednesday morning, which also hit the towns of Bahawalpur and Muridke in the heart of the country, and the drone incursions into some of the country’s largest cities on Thursday, were seen in Islamabad as a major escalation.

One drone was shot down over the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the Pakistan army’s heavily fortified headquarters.

One drone hit a military target near Lahore, the capital and largest city of the province of Punjab, and the second-largest city in Pakistan after Karachi.

Other places where drones were neutralized were Gujranwala, Chakwal, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chor and near Karachi, which the country’s largest city and commercial capital.

India has also accused Pakistan of having “increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using mortars and heavy caliber artillery” across the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two nations.

India said the number of people who had been killed by Pakistani firing since the escalation of violence on Wednesday had risen to 16, including three women and five children.

Speaking in parliament, Pakistani Information Ministers said Pakistan had killed 40-50 Indian soldiers and destroyed a brigade headquarters along the Line of Control. The claims could not be independently verified and India has not commented on it.

Workers place candles and flowers prior to a candle light vigil for children, who were killed in the Indian missile strikes, in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 8, 2025. (AP)

India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the past, two of them over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

Since April 22, they have intensified firing and shelling across the Line of Control.

For decades India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants in attacks on Indian interests, especially in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denies such support and in turn accuses India of backing separatist and other insurgents in Pakistan, which New Delhi denies.

With inputs from AFP and Reuters


Pakistan advises Hajj pilgrims to verify approved private operators before bookings 

Updated 14 min ago
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Pakistan advises Hajj pilgrims to verify approved private operators before bookings 

  • Private operators were allotted 89,801 slots initially but the final number was reduced to around 23,620 last month
  • Due to non-compliance with Saudi regulations, private sector failed to secure accommodations by Feb. 14 deadline

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has advised all pilgrims performing Hajj through private tour operators to verify the authenticity and quota approval of a particular company before making bookings and payments, state-run APP news agency said on Thursday. 

The total quota granted to Pakistan for Hajj 2025 was 179,210, which is usually divided equally between the government and the private schemes. This year, however, the private Hajj quota has been significantly reduced, impacting over 67,000 pilgrims. 

Private operators were allotted 89,801 slots initially, but the final number was reduced to around 23,620 last month due to non-compliance of the private sector with Saudi booking regulations and deadlines.

In a report published by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Thursday, Religious Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt issued guidelines for Hajj pilgrims, including verifying the authenticity and quota approval of private tour operators before making payments, visiting the ministry’s official website to confirm registration and avoiding reliance on unverified advertisements or information.

“The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has advised all prospective pilgrims intending to perform Hajj under the private Hajj scheme to exercise utmost caution when booking packages through private tour operators (Munazzameen),” APP said.

“The advisory comes after some private organizers failed to pay dues ... within the timeline set by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” because of which they did not get permission to serve as Hajj operators. 

Butt added that Hajj operators should not book pilgrims beyond their approved quotas.

While a precise number of worldwide pilgrims for Hajj 2025 is difficult to determine in advance, projections suggest it will be a record-breaking year, with over 2.5 million Muslims performing the pilgrimage. 
 


PSX sees largest single-day decline in its history on escalation in India-Pakistan conflict

Updated 08 May 2025
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PSX sees largest single-day decline in its history on escalation in India-Pakistan conflict

  • Record-breaking 6,482-point plunge on Thursday stunned Pakistan Stock Exchange, which closed at 103,527
  • Market crash followed as army said it had neutralized 25 drones launched by India, with four troopers injured

KARACHI: A record-breaking 6,482-point plunge on Thursday stunned the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), marking the largest single-day decline in the index’s history as investors feared escalation amid an ongoing standoff between India and Pakistan.

The bloodbath comes as Pakistan and India indulged in the worst fighting between them in decades this week, with India striking multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday after a deadly April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on its neighbor. 

Pakistan, which denies any link to the Kashmir violence, said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation. Thursday brought more violence as Pakistan said it had downed 25 drones from India overnight and New Delhi said it “neutralized” Pakistani attempts to strike military targets with drones and missiles.

“The market crash followed alarming geopolitical developments after ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry announced that Pakistani forces had neutralized 25 drones sent by India,” Topline Securities said in its daily market review.

“He also confirmed that four army personnel were injured after one drone managed to partially strike a military target, despite the majority being intercepted.”

The statement sent shockwaves through financial markets, triggering widespread panic selling as investors rushed to offload positions, leading to a broad-based decline across sectors.

Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index started the day with a 1.7 percent rally but turned bearish and slumped as much as eight percent after reports of India’s drone strikes triggered panic selling at the bourse.

The stock gauge, bullish otherwise, ended the day with a 5.89 percent decline to 103,526, according to PSX data. 

The selling pressure came largely from leveraged investors, Shahid Ali Habib, the chief executive officer at Arif Habib Ltd., told Arab News.

“Pakistan’s stocks are under pressure as it now seems that Pakistan will also go on to respond [to India] and that response will also escalate further,” he said. 

“It’s not going to end actually soon and the escalation is happening.”

However, Habib said he expected a “sharp rebound” for Pakistan’s stocks once a third party like the US or longtime ally China mediated and defused the conflict.

The renewed geopolitical tension has caused Pakistan’s market to fall about 12 percent from April 23 to May 8.

The latest conflict with India is a setback for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s effort to revive the country’s debt-ridden economy through increasing revenues and exports with the help of an International Monetary Fund’s $7 billion reforms-oriented loan program.


Pakistan postpones PSL match after Indian drone shot down near Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

Updated 08 May 2025
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Pakistan postpones PSL match after Indian drone shot down near Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

  • Pakistan military said on Thursday it had shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations
  • One drone was shot down over garrison city of Rawalpindi where Peshawar Zalmi And Karachi Kings match was to take place

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has rescheduled the HBL PSL X match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings after Pakistan shot down an Indian drone near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium where the game was set to take place today, Thursday. 

The Pakistan military said on Thursday it had shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations. One drone was shot down over the garrison city of Rawalpindi, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a televised statement. Rawalpindi is home to the Pakistan army’s heavily fortified headquarters.

The drone was shot down near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

“The PCB will announce the revised date in due course,” the cricket board said, saying VIP Gallery and enclosures ticket holders could obtain refunds from TCS Express Centers while tickets bought online would be automatically reimbursed in the accounts used at the time of booking.

The PCB’s statement did not mention the drone attacks, but the postponement comes in the wake of violence between neighbors India and Pakistan, who this week have engaged in the worst direct military confrontation in decades. 

Fighting has escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbors since Wednesday when India said it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan, some of them linked to an attack by militants that killed 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22. Pakistan said 31 people were killed in the Indian strikes and vowed to retaliate, subsequently saying it had shot down five Indian aircraft and a combat drone.

On Thursday, the Pakistan army said India was “attacking Pakistan with Israeli-made Harop drones in panic” while India’s defense ministry said Islamabad had launched an overnight air attack using “drones and missiles” before New Delhi retaliated to destroy an air defense system in the eastern city of Lahore. The Pakistani defense minister has rejected India’s claims. 


Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff

Updated 08 May 2025
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Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff

  • Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday
  • Match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed 

NEW DELHI: India’s IPL cricket match on Sunday between Mumbai and Punjab has been moved to Gujarat, local media reported on Thursday, while airlines suspended flight operations from more than two dozen airports across northern and western regions of the country amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.

The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed in the wake of violence between India and neighboring Pakistan.

But Thursday evening’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, which is also set to take place in Dharamsala, will proceed as planned, as will all other games in coming days.

Sunday’s match will now be played in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, the state’s cricket association secretary Anil Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.

Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday. 

In adviseries to passengers, key domestic airlines said their flights will remain suspended until Saturday from airports including Amritsar in northern Punjab and Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, bordering Pakistan.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry hasn’t officially commented on the closure of airports after tensions flared up with Pakistan. A spokeswoman for the ministry, Beena Yadav, declined to comment on Thursday.

Indigo, the country’s biggest domestic carrier, on Wednesday canceled 165 flights, while Air India and Air India Express had a similar number of cancelations. Air India even diverted two of its international flights enroute from Amritsar, close to Lahore, to New Delhi, because of the sudden closure of the airport.

The strikes on Wednesday came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.

The arch-rivals have since exchanged fire across their contested border in Kashmir. The violence has raised fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.