Bride, groom stage protest against inflation at Nawabshah wedding

Newly-wed couple chants slogans along with baraatis while going home after tying the knot

A bride and groom in Sindh’s Nawabshah district adopted a novel way to register their protest against the skyrocketing cost of living—holding a demonstration against rising inflation while going home after tying the knot.

The newly-wed couple, Yasir Barro and Dr Sahrish Shadi, along with the baraatis (relatives and guests of the groom) staged a protest against inflation and chanted slogans against soaring food prices.

Following the wedding ceremony, Dr Sahrish said that her husband had come up with the suggestion to stage a protest against inflation before going home.

A video of the unique protest, which went viral on social media, showed the bride and groom wearing traditional wedding attire and chanting slogans.

https://www.facebook.com/100074671532399/videos/5850998971693442/?t=0

The groom, a teacher at a government school, said the protest was not pre-planned, rather the idea popped up in his mind during the event and, after speaking to his friends, he put it into action.

Also read: Pakistan inflation jumps 31.5%, highest in nearly 50 years

The couple's novel protest demonstration comes as the key inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped 31.5 per cent on Wednesday.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said February's year-on-year inflation was the highest annual rate recorded since 1974—nearly 50 years—as food, beverage, and transportation prices surged more than 45 per cent across the country.

Prices were up 4.3 per cent last month from the month before, the bureau said, with January CPI increasing 27.55 per cent year-on-year.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 45.07 per cent over last year, while alcoholic beverage and tobacco prices jumped 47.59 per cent due to an increased tax on cigarettes.

In February, the government passed a supplementary bill that lifted the goods and services tax to 18 per cent from 17 per cent to help raise 170 billion rupees ($639 million) in extra revenue for the fiscal year through July.