Pakistan's overall annual inflation rate peaked at an all-time high of more than 24.3 per cent last month from about 21.5 per cent in June - a significant jolt to the country's consumers.
Analysts warned the inflation rate was particularly worrying for the poorest section of the population, given that prices of non-perishable food items rose about 35.4 per cent year on year in July while those of perishable food items rose about 22.8 per cent.
"These numbers are obviously of special concern to the government as it [the economy] remains in a difficult time," said Yasin Lakhani, former chairman of the Karachi stock exchange, the country's largest stock market. "Inflation has become a popular outcry everywhere in Pakistan."
The inflation numbers come just as the seven-month old government of Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, presses ahead with plans to impeach Pervez Musharraf, the president who has ruled Pakistan for almost nine years.
While the government claims to have sufficient support in the federal parliament to win the two-thirds majority of both houses needed for an impeachment motion, the mood on the streets is still divided. "Supposing President Musharraf is impeached, how does that help me on a daily basis?" asked Muhammad Riaz, a Karachi-based taxi driver.
While global economic factors, such as record oil prices, are partly responsible for the government's inability to curb inflation and manage the economy more efficiently, analysts also noted that a grim security situation was also to blame.
Yesterday, at least 14 personnel of the Pakistan Air Force were killed by a bomb outside Peshawar, the northern frontier city in the north west frontier province bordering Afghanistan.
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