Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik Friday said that the inflation rate was decreasing every month due to effective measures of the government.
Responding to Senator Zeeshan Khanzada’s question about the impact of decreasing inflation, Ali informed the Senate that the inflation rate which declined to 9.6 per cent in August 2024 had reached 6.9 per cent in September 2024 as compared to 31.4 per cent in September 2023. The monthly inflation Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the lowest in 44 months, he said and added that CPI during July-September FY 2025, stood at 9.2 per cent against 29 per cent last year.
Ali Malik said that the decline in CPI indicates that the pace of inflation had decreased over 4 times compared to the same month last year.
He said that prices of major food items and essential goods had also decreased as prices of Wheat flour came down over 35 per cent, Petrol by 23.5 per cent, Hi-speed diesel by 22.5 per cent, Chilies powder by 20 per cent, electricity charges decreased by 13.5 per cent, sugar 12.7 and cooking oil prices slashed by 10.3 per cent as compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile giving reply to another Senator’s question, Ali said that Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) is a public limited company governed by an independent Board of Directors constituted by the Federal Government.
The Bank’s recruitment and selection policy duly approved by the Board of Directors does not include any regional, provincial, disabled,non-muslim, female or deceased quota and all appointments in ZTBL were made purely on merit through open competition against advertised positions on a need basis, he added.—APP
