Five people were killed in a stampede in front of the free flour distribution center in Pakistan

At least five people have been killed and others injured in Pakistan in the past few weeks due to a stampede at sites distributing free flour as part of a government-backed program to help families suffering from a sharp rise in the cost of basic food commodities, to mark the holy month of Ramadan. Amir Mir, Minister of Information in the eastern province of Punjab, said in statements that four people, including two women, died at distribution sites in the province, but indicated that two of the dead were suffering from health problems. He added that others were also injured due to the stampede, and that an investigation is under way into those incidents, pointing to the death of another person in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in a similar stampede in front of a distribution center last week, at a time when the cost of basic commodities had increased dramatically. Especially the price of flour, which increased by more than 45 percent from last year’s prices. And the media reported pictures of crowds of thousands of citizens at free flour distribution centers set up across the country, after inflation reached levels of more than 30 percent, the highest level in 50 years in Pakistan.