Pakistan inflation jumps to 31.5%

Inflation in crisis-racked Pakistan has jumped 31.5 percent according to state data published Wednesday, as Islamabad continues to stare down IMF negotiators withholding a crucial bailout.

Year-on-year inflation for February is the highest in decades, while transport and perishable food costs rose by around half as a cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. "The 30 percent figure is where families will have to make choices and sacrifices," analyst Torek Farhadi told AFP.

Years of financial mismanagement and political instability have pushed Pakistan's economy to the brink of collapse, exacerbated by a global energy crisis and devastating floods that submerged a third of the country in 2022.