ISLAMABAD, March 12: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that controlling inflation rate and rising prices is essential to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are transferred to common people.

He stated this while talking to State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar at the Prime Minister House on Monday. The message of the premier came at a time when the country’s inflation geared up in February 2007 over the previous month.

An official announcement said that prime minister told the SBP governor that in addition to the monetary policy, supply side measures and reforms had resulted in reduction of prices of cement, LPG, sugar, ghee and pulses. The government was keeping a close watch on the prices of daily use items, he added.

Dr Shamshad Akhtar briefed the prime minister on the various monetary policy measures undertaken to control inflation, which according to her was showing a rising trend.

He said that the improvement in the banking system had encouraged several global banks to acquire Pakistani banks which augur well for the country.

The governor also updated the premier on the developments in the banking system, the operations of the SBP, growth in foreign exchange reserves and the stability in the exchange rate.