Tuesday, November 5, 2024
spot_img

Soaring food, fuel prices tipping countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan over the edge

Date:

Share post:

spot_img
spot_img

London, April 10 : A combination of soaring food and fuel prices could generate a wave of political instability, as people who were already frustrated with government leaders are pushed over the edge by rising costs, media reports said.

“It is extremely worrisome,” said Rabah Arezki, a senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and former chief economist at the African Development Bank, CN reported.

Unrest in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Peru over the past week highlights the risks. In Sri Lanka, protests have erupted over shortages of gas and other basic goods, the report said.

Double-digit inflation in Pakistan has eroded support for Prime Minister Imran Khan, forcing him from office.

At least six people have died in recent anti-government protests in Peru sparked by rising fuel prices. But political conflict isn’t expected to be limited to these countries, CNN reported.

“I don’t think people have felt the full impact of rising prices just yet,” said Hamish Kinnear, a Middle East and North Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk consultancy.

In Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million, an economic and political crisis is already boiling over, with protesters taking to the streets in defiance of curfews and government ministers stepping down en masse.

Grappling with high debt levels and a weak economy reliant on tourism, Sri Lanka was forced to run down its reserves of foreign currency. That prevented the government from making payments for key imports such as energy, creating devastating shortages and forcing people to spend hours lining up for fuel, CNN reported.

While Imran Khan’s political problems date back years, claims of economic mismanagement as the cost of food and fuel leaped, as well as the depletion of foreign exchange reserves, made matters worse.

“The extent of economic chaos has united opposition to Imran Khan,” Kinnear of Verisk Maplecroft said, CNN reported. (IANS)

spot_img
spot_img

Related articles

Seven ‘terrorists’ killed in military operations in Pakistan

Islamabad, Nov 5: Seven "terrorists" were killed and three others injured in separate operations by the Pakistani military...

ISRO scientist Dr Sundara Murthy enlightens students at USTM workshop

  Guwahati, Nov 5: Dr. T.K. Sundara Murthy, a prominent figure in India's space research community was here today...

NEHUSU decides to go on indefinite hunger strike

Shillong, Nov 5: The NEHUSU on Tuesday afternoon decided to go for an ‘indefinite hunger strike” in protest...

ISRO to launch EU’s Proba-3 Sun observation mission in December: Dr Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, Nov 5: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the European Union’s Proba...