KARACHI: An expert from the international rating agency Moody’s has warned that the average inflation rate in Pakistan may reach the highest level of 33 percent in 2023.
While giving an interview with a foreign news agency, Moody’s senior economic analyst Katrina Ell said that the reason for the increase in inflation in Pakistan is also the strict conditions of the IMF. Inflation is expected to reach 33 percent during the first six months of this year, the situation will be a little better when the IMF installment is received.
She said that after the loan tranche from the IMF, the economic conditions in Pakistan are likely to come back on track, but the situation will not improve overnight, it will take time to recover the economy, long-term planning has to be done.
Moody’s analyst said that only the IMF bailout package is not enough to bring Pakistan’s economy on track, it needs stable economic policies. If the fiscal deficit is controlled, it is hoped that it can improve in 2024, the analyst said.
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She further said that Pakistan’s economic growth rate is expected to reach 2.1 percent in 2023. The prices of food items are high due to which the rate of poverty is also increasing.
Even earlier, Human Rights Watch had said that due to severe inflation in Pakistan, the rights of the poor people to health, food, and an adequate standard of living are being threatened.
Human Rights Watch asked the IMF to work with the Pakistani government to protect economically vulnerable people.
