'Govt's incompetence led to chaos in country': Opposition decries petrol crisis

The Opposition censured the government saying it dealt with the ongoing petrol crisis "incompetently", as thousands of people waited in long queues at petrol pumps across the country to get their vehicles refueled on Thursday during the country-wide strike announced by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA).

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the entire nation was worried as the government had shown its "incompetence" in dealing with petroleum dealers.

"The government's incompetence in  [dealing with] the petroleum dealers has created chaos in the country," a statement issued by PPP on Twitter quoted Bilawal as saying.

"Most of the petrol pumps are closed in the country, while several long queues could be seen [...] businesses affairs are affected, which is the government's failure." 

Bilawal said PM Imran Khan had "ruined" the lives of people after his government had affected every aspect of life. "PTI-led government turns solvable issues into a crisis through its incompetence."

The PPP chairman noted the next increase in the price of petrol would be disastrous for the masses, as he said that the rise in the rates of electricity, expensive petrol, and gas were the "gifts of the PTIMF deal".

"From day one, we had said that the PTI's budget was a failure [...] and the failure of the budget has proved that Imran Khan's government is incompetent," Bilawal said.

Meanwhile, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz in a Tweet, said the government's "apathy and incompetency" had forced people to wait in long queues to get wheat, sugar, and petrol.

Terming it "the height of injustice", Maryam said that despite all the chaos, the government has been "inconsiderate" towards the masses. The PML-N leader claimed she had never witnessed Prime Minister Imran Khan "being worried over a common man's problems."

Sharing a video in which a man could be seen criticising the government as he stood outside a petrol pump in Islamabad — along with several people waiting to get their tanks filled — Maryam said: "This is the humiliation that Imran Khan has earned for a few days in power."

In another tweet, Maryam shared images of long queues outside petrol pumps in Islamabad, Lahore, and Gujranwala, and said: "These are not just long queues, [these images depict] people's misery, pain, and helplessness."

The PML-N said she prayed, "Imran Khan, people who impose him [on the country], and ministers" also stand in such long queues so they could realise the misery of the masses."