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KARACHI: Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 3.0 percent year-on-year in August from 4.1 percent in July, data showed on Monday, though economists warned that weeks of flooding in Punjab province could put food prices under renewed pressure.

The Finance Ministry last week projected August inflation in a 4.0-5.0 percent range — down from double-digit annual readings through much of last year — citing stable macroeconomic conditions, improved manufacturing and agricultural support.

But the ministry warned that extreme weather posed a threat to farm sector growth, even at a time of improved agricultural credit and fertilizer supplies.

Authorities in Punjab, the country’s breadbasket, said more than 2.3 million people were affected and 35 killed in the floods that swamped more than 2,200 villages after heavy monsoon rains.

Economists say widespread crop damage could quickly feed into higher food inflation, which had eased in August on account of lower perishable prices.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer price inflation fell 0.6 percent in August, the statistics bureau said.

KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed a sharp escalation in militant violence in August, with attacks reaching their highest monthly level in more than a decade, according to new data released on Monday by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

The Islamabad-based independent think tank that tracks militancy recorded 143 militant attacks last month, a 74 percent increase compared to July. 

“With 143 militant attacks recorded, August became the deadliest month in over a decade, surpassing all monthly figures since February 2014,” PICSS said in its monthly report.

The wave of violence killed 194 people, including 73 security forces personnel, 62 civilians, 58 militants, and one member of a pro-government peace committee. Another 231 people were injured. Militants also abducted at least 10 individuals.

Security forces launched nationwide operations in response, killing at least 100 militants and arresting 31 others, PICSS said. These operations also caused the deaths of three civilians and one soldier.

When combining militant violence with counter-operations, the overall toll for August rose to at least 298 people killed and 250 injured. Fatalities included 158 militants, 74 security forces personnel, 65 civilians, and one peace committee member. 

The think tank noted a 100 percent increase in security forces’ deaths and a 145 percent rise in injuries compared to July.

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which borders Afghanistan, saw the most severe escalation, recording 51 militant attacks in its tribal districts, a 200 percent increase from July, that left 74 people dead and 99 wounded.

Mainland KP’s settled districts were also hit hard, with 55 attacks killing 56 people, including 26 security personnel and 22 civilians. Overall, the province witnessed 106 attacks in August, the highest monthly figure in more than 10 years, PICSS reported.

Security forces carried out operations in Bajaur and North Waziristan, districts that have long served as hubs for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of militant factions aligned with the Afghan Taliban. 

At least 48 militants were killed in KP during operations and retaliatory fire.

BALOCHISTAN, SINDH, PUNJAB, GB

The restive southwestern province of Balochistan saw 28 attacks in August that killed 52 people, including 23 security personnel and 21 civilians. Militants kidnapped at least five people, while security operations killed 50 fighters, the highest number in Balochistan since June 2015, when 60 militants were reported killed. Security officials said those targeted included members of separatist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).

In Sindh province, six attacks were recorded, leaving eight people dead. Security forces arrested 11 suspected militants, all in the port city of Karachi.

Punjab reported two attacks, including a TTP assault in Dera Ghazi Khan. Security forces killed two militants in Mianwali and arrested one Islamic State-linked suspect in Okara.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote northern region bordering China, militants linked to the TTP struck Chilas district, killing two soldiers and injuring one.

PICSS also noted that Pakistan’s federal capital, Islamabad, was spared a major attack in August after the civilian Intelligence Bureau arrested a would-be suicide bomber and his handler. The group said the plot was linked to the TTP.

Militant violence in Pakistan has surged since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, which Islamabad says emboldened cross-border groups such as the TTP. The Taliban government in Afghanistan denies it supports the TTP or allows it safe havens.