PM Imran Khan orders roll back of roti, naan prices across Pakistan

cash-strapped government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to roll back prices of naan and roti across Pakistan, media reports said on Wednesday, amid public discontent against rising prices of essential commodities. 

Pakistan is facing a serious ecomic crisis with short supplies of foreign currency reserves and stagnating growth. International Monetrary Fund this month approved a USD 6 billion loan over a period of three years for Pakistan to allow country to return to sustainable growth and improve living standards of people. 

As Pakistan has initiated steps to implement tough ecomic reforms, prices of petrol, gas and or essential food items have increased, hitting common man.

Currently, naan is selling at Rs 12 to Rs 15 in different cities of Pakistan. However, before an increase in gas tariff and rates of wheat flour, naan price ranged between Rs 8 and Rs 10. Similarly, roti is available at Rs 10 to Rs 12 while its previous rate was Rs 7 to Rs 8, Dawn report said.

Taking te of public discontent, federal Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Khan decided on July 30 to bring down prices of naan and roti to ir previous rates throughout country, reports said.

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Khan, taking stock of increasing prices of naan and roti, decided to take immediate steps to revert m to ir original rates, said Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. 

She said besides Cabinet meeting prime minister also presided over a meeting on gas tariff and rates of naan and roti. 

She said prime minister also called a meeting of Ecomic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Cabinet on Wednesday. meeting is aimed at reducing gas tariff, especially for Tandoorwalas, and cutting price of Atta (wheat flour) and duties on it.

IMF forecasts Pakistan's ecomic growth will slow to 2.9 per cent this fiscal year from 5.2 per cent in 2018. In February, State Bank of Pakistan, country's central bank had only USD 8 billion bn left in foreign reserves.

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