Goods transporters increase fares after hike in petroleum prices

ISLAMABAD: After an increase in petroleum prices, goods transporters have increased their fares, while the hike has also drawn severe criticism from the opposition parties as resolutions against it have been submitted in the National Assembly, Senate and the Punjab Assembly.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Monday submitted calling attention and adjournment motions in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively, against the hike in petroleum prices.

PPP legislators Syed Naveed Qamar, Shazia Marri, Dr Nafeesa Shah, Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Imran Zafar Leghari submitted the calling attention notice in the National Assembly Secretariat to draw the attention of the minister for petroleum towards the recent increase in the prices of the petroleum products in the country.

Through the notice, the PPP lawmakers said this step of the government would raise inflation and put extra burden on already encumbered population. They stated that the prices of petroleum products in Pakistan are already high as compared to prices of these products in the international market. “Rather than providing relief to public, the government has increased the prices of these products to fill its pockets,” they stated.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah, termed the increase in the prices of the petroleum products on the eve of New Year the outcome of failed economic policies of the government. He said it was an injustice to the people who were already facing inflation and unemployment.

The opposition leader said the government had already burdened the people with external debt. “What the government will say now about its claims that foreign exchange reserves of the country are on record high level,” he questioned. He said the government had already been collecting billions of rupees from the people through unjustified taxes on petroleum products and now with the recent increase in prices, the people will be burdened with the new wave of inflation.

“The PPP will not allow the government to further burden the people and will expose the government’s false claims of providing relief in the sectors of health, education, economic progress and prosperity,” he said.

Khursheed Shah demanded the government to reverse the increase in the prices of the petroleum products immediately. Meanwhile, the MQM billed the latest increase in oil prices as a New Year gift and asked the government to immediately reduce the rates by 50 percent or be ready for countrywide protests.

“The federal government has given a New Year gift to the general public in the shape of increase in fuel prices on the very first day of new year. The government has failed to give relief to the masses. For the last six months, the government is increasing petroleum prices and has dropped a bomb by enhancing again by Rs04 the price of petrol and also other petroleum products,” said the MQM parliamentary leader in the Senate, Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, in an adjournment motion submitted to the Senate Secretariat. He said that since August, 2017, increase in prices of petroleum products was being observed continuously in every month. He said the decision of increasing the oil prices was “an open enmity with the nation” and added that the government was solely responsible for the present state of economy and skyrocketing price-hike in the country.

“It is very strange that despite high slogans by the government to provide cheapest electricity and other household items to the common man, how it is possible after dropping New Year's gift of petrol bomb,” he said. The government, he charged, burdened the petroleum consumers with general sales tax and petroleum levy.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) submitted a resolution against the increase in petroleum products prices in the Punjab Assembly. The resolution tabled by PTI’s Sadia Sohail demanded the government to immediately withdraw the decision as it will cause inflation in the country. She said that this step will also create difficulties for poverty-stricken people. On the other hand, the decision was also challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) by judicial activist panel’s head Azhar Siddiq Farooq.