Saudi army chief
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s army chief, General Fayyadh Bin Hamed Al Ruwaili, called on the COAS Syed Asim Munir on Friday. Both engaged in discussions covering various areas of shared interest.
As per a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), General Ruwaili and his high-level military delegation paid a visit to General Munir.
“During the meeting, both sides explored a range of mutual interests, including bilateral cooperation in defense and security matters,” ISPR added.
The delegation also met Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza at the Joint Staff Headquarters earlier in the day.
The visit of the Saudi delegation to Pakistan comes shortly after COAS Munir informed the Saudi business community about Saudi Arabia’s intention to invest $25 billion in Pakistan. The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) will facilitate this bilateral investment.
Earlier the COAS had visited Medina soon after assuming his responsibility. During that visit, he held discussions with the Saudi crown prince on ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two nations.
During the visit, General Munir also met with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, with conversations focusing on bolstering cooperation in military and defense matters, as well as addressing important regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Weekly inflation surges to 38 percent in Sept 2023
Meanwhile, the weekly inflation under the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group showed a 0.93% increase week-on-week (WoW) for the week ending on September 21, 2023. In a year-on-year (YoY) comparison to the same period last year, the SPI surged by 38.66%.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed this in its latest data released on Friday.
The latest weekly inflation trend negates the finance minister’s claim that the inflation is declining in Pakistan. In fact, surge in inflation is an outcome of frequent hikes in the cost of utilities in the country.
The PBS data showed the Combined Index at 281.77 on September 21, 2023, compared to 279 on September 14, 2023. One year ago, on September 22, 2022, the index was recorded at 203.21.
Among the 51 items tracked, the average prices of 22 items increased, 11 items decreased, and 18 items remained stable.
The weekly inflation percentage change in SPI across income groups indicated that SPI increased across all quantiles, ranging from 0.05% to 1.27%.
The Lowest Income Group experienced a 0.05% weekly increase, while the highest income group recorded a 1.27% increase.
On a yearly basis, the analysis of SPI changes across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles, ranging from 34.28% to 41%.
The Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 38.27%, while the highest income group recorded an increase of 34.28%.
