Inflation fuels Pakistan dissatisfaction with govt

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan

The rupee has depreciated by 35 percent in the last year while electricity, gas and petrol prices have doubled in the last two.

The country faces a crippling energy crisis, producing only 80 percent of its power needs, causing debilitating blackouts and suffocating industry.

Price hikes and shortages of essential items such as sugar and flour complicate housekeeping and exacerbate the rock-bottom unpopularity of President Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

AFP