ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the sharp increase in the prices of everyday essential eatables over the past week.

In a statement, Shehbaz said that over the past seven days the cost of 24 essential edible commodities shot up by 24 percent, which was a cruelty towards the people of Pakistan and the most brutal exploitation of the masses.

This average inflation rate of 13.64 over the past week and an increase of Rs58 in 20kg bag of flour show a total absence of governance in the country, he said.

This 17.02 percent increase in inflation has pushed more population under the poverty line, he added. “The increase in the price of ghee by 41 percent, cooking oil by 37 percent, chicken by 39 percent, electricity by 47 percent, and LNG by 46 percent as compared with last year is the proof of the corruption by the PTI government,” Shehbaz said.—PR