Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said continued inflation has made a lot of people mentally ill.

Inflation continues to increase, but wages are stagnant, which is prompting the masses to change their opinion about the government, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the global inflation average stands at 4 percent, inflation in India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka is at 4 percent while it is 13 percent in Pakistan. Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that inflation can be attributed to a hike in the price of oil and other things in the international market, rising shipping costs, erosion in the value of local currency and profiteering.

He said that the former finance minister was stabilising the economy but he was shown the door after which policy of growth was adopted, short-term moves were preferred which increased GDP, imports and Large Scale Manufacturing.

The business leader said that currency was devalued to boost exports which were boosted by 24 percent but it also made imports costly. Imports jumped by 58 percent to push up the trade deficit to 28 billion dollars.

The IMF also delayed release of funds which resulted in an economic crisis and now the government had to borrow to repay loans.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that gas prices are at a record high in the international market, oil prices are at the 2014 level and inflation is increasing which is slowing down economic activities.

Inflation is very high in Pakistan as compared to the majority of the countries, therefore it was not possible to further increase the price of petroleum products.

He noted that SBP has imposed some restrictions over the sale and purchase of dollars which will reduce its demand as well as the flight of capital.