The political crisis deepened in August and early September as the newly assertive Supreme Court mounted several new challenges to the president, General Pervez Musharraf. Despite the turmoil, General Musharraf has given no indication that the presidential election scheduled for September-October 2007 will be cancelled, and he is expected to win the contest. A parliamentary election is scheduled for January 2008. The government continues to be concerned about inflationary pressures, and will maintain its tight monetary policy stance. Real GDP growth will slow from 6.4% in fiscal year 2006/07 (July-June) to 5.9% in 2007/08, owing to slower growth in the services sector and in gross fixed investment. High international oil prices and rapid inflation remain the biggest threats to the economy |
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| Key Reports Available for Pakistan |
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| Land area | | 796,095 sq km | | Population | | 156.8m (June 2006 official estimate) | | Main towns | | Population in millions, June 2003 | | Karachi: 10.1 | | Lahore: 5.6 | | Faisalabad: 2.3 | | Climate | | Subtropical, cold in highlands | | Weather in Karachi | | Hottest month, June, 28-34°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, January, 13-25°C; driest month, October, 1 mm average monthly rainfall; wettest month, July, 81 mm average rainfall | | Languages | | Urdu is the national language. English is widespread in business circles and as a second language | | Measures | | Imperial system, changing to metric. Local measures include 1 seer = 0.933 kg; 1 maund = 40 seers = 37.32 kg | | Numbers are still commonly expressed in crores and lakhs: 1 crore=10m, written 1,00,00,000; 1 lakh=100,000, written 1,00,000, although in 1978 the international system of millions, billions and so on was introduced | | Currency | | Rupee (Rp)=100 paisa. Average exchange rate in 2007: PRs60.7:US$1. Exchange rate on September 9th 2008: PRs76.5:US$1 | | Time | | Five hours ahead of GMT | | Fiscal year | | July 1st-June 30th | | Public holidays | | January 19th (Ashura), March 20th (Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi), March 23rd (Pakistan Day), August 14th (Independence Day), October 2nd (end of Ramadan; Eid al-Fitr), November 9th (Allama Iqbal Day), December 9th (Eid ul-Adha), December 25th (birth of Quaid-i-Azam and Christmas Day). (Ashura, Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi, Eid al-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are dependent on the Islamic lunar calendar, and their dates may vary slightly from those listed.) | | SOURCE: Country Profile |
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