WATCH | People in Pakistan store cooking gas in plastic bags amid economic crisis

Pakistan's slumping economy is pushing people of the South Asian nation to the edge. Islamabad is failing to provide its people with basic amenities to the point that people are storing LPG (cooking gas) in plastic balloons and bags.

Visuals have emerged on social media that show people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province storing cooking gas in plastic bags due to shortage in supply of cooking gas cylinders. Reports in the local media suggest that people in Hangu city of the province have been living without gas for the past two years.

People can beseen storing cooking gas in plastic bags instead of gas cylinders. The viral videos from Pakistan, however, cannot be independently verified by WION.

Pakistan economic crisis: How the cooking gas is being filled in plastic bags?

According to local media reports, gas vendors in various parts of Pakistan use a compressor to load LPG into a plastic bag before sealing the opening with a nozzle and valve. Around three to four kilograms of the gas is filled in a large plastic balloon in about an hour. The bags are then sold to individuals who use the gas using a small electric suction pump.

About Pakistan's collapsing economy

The Pakistan government raised the prices of wheat flour, sugar, and ghee for sale through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) with immediate effect, The Dawn reported. The step was reportedly taken to mitigate the impact of untargeted subsidies.

"Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries would be exempt from the price increase, while the limit for subsidised purchases from the USC has also been curtailed," the report stated.

Under the new rates, the price of sugar has been raised to Rs 89 per kg from Rs 70 per kg, a 27 per cent rise, while the price of ghee has been raised to Rs 375 per kg from Rs 75 per kg. Wheat flour prices have also been raised to Rs 64.8 per kg from Rs 40 per kg.

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