Nowhere in the world are the markets open till 1 o'clock at night, says Khawaja Asif
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday again sought support from the traders and media for the government's energy conservation plan by closing markets early and changing the mindset.
Federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Musadik Malik and Asad Mehmood addressed a press conference in the federal capital pleading for a joint effort to face the ongoing crisis.
"We understand that the common man is facing difficulties due to the petrol price hike but this is not our doing. Due to the PTI government's mismanagement and the deal they signed with the IMF, we were left with no option but to take the hard decisions," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said.
"And then the Ukraine conflict worsened the situation after which the prices of gas, oil and commodities shot to record levels."
He said that the PTI leaders do not talk about their misgovernance and lecture them on inflation.
"Nowhere in the world are the markets open till 1:00am. If markets are closed soon, oil can be saved by conserving electricity."
However, he said, the traders are not ready to accept this proposal yet.
At the national level, no one has tried to make electricity and oil economical. The government will do its best to provide economic security to the people, the minister said.
“Austerity is the need of the hour and it should be a part of our culture.”
“Opening businesses at 8,9 in the morning and shutting down between Isha and Maghrib can save a lot of electricity,” the minister added.
“Let's make business hours realistic,” he requested.
“If we implement the plan we can save 3500 MW of electricity without Karachi and if we include the metropolitan city we can save upto 4,000MW.”
In a major development, the government announced a massive hike in the prices of petroleum products on Wednesday.
Addressing a news conference along with Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in Islamabad, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the new price of petrol will be Rs233.89 per litre, diesel Rs263.31 per litre, kerosene oil Rs211.43 per litre and light diesel Rs207.47 per litre.
The finance minister said that the government is committed to control the situation of the country within two to three months but it has to take difficult decisions.
He said the prices of petroleum products in the global markets are much higher as compared to Pakistan and the incumbent government is also compelled to raise prices due to commitments made by the previous government with the IMF.