Man killed, scores hurt in stampede

PESHAWAR: One person was killed and eight others injured during a stampede for free flour in inflation-wracked Pakistan yesterday, the first day of the holy month of Ramadaan.

The price of basic food items has rocketed, with inflation at a near 50-year high in the country that is back in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

Police said that hundreds of people gathered at the local market, one of hundreds of distribution points set up by the government during Ramadaan. In a nearby district, a man died and four others were injured when a wall they were sitting on collapsed as crowds amassed for free flour.