PTI wants govt to contact Russia for cheap oil

ISLAMABAD: Former finance minister and PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin claimed Friday that the PTI government had earmarked Rs466 billion for subsidies and refused to budge on the IMF demand to impose Rs700 billion taxes.

Tarin told a presser that unlike the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf the ‘imported government’ was afraid of the United States and it was not going to Russia to buy cheap oil.

“If our government had increased petrol by Rs4 to Rs5 per litre, there would have been a storm. They increased the price of petrol and diesel by Rs60 in a week but there is no hue and cry. This is not a bomb but an atom bomb of inflation has been dropped on the people," he said.

He said the PTI government had earmarked Rs267 billion for petroleum products and Rs106 billion for power subsidy after Imran Khan's decision to freeze the prices. He said Imran Khan was of the view in February that maximum relief should be provided to the people, adding that the PTI government had given a subsidy to the people under a plan. He said that there was a plan to reduce Rs100 billion from the PSDP while Rs50 billion were promised by the FBR, which was to be achieved by increasing taxes. He said that had it been the PTI government, it would have taken the IMF loan by completing the seventh review in April.

“It was the responsibility of this government to contact Russia because the thirsty goes to the well,” he said. Tarin claimed that everything in the PTI government was going in the right direction. PTI Focal Person for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar criticised the ‘anti-people policies of the imported government.’ He said: “Economy is currently going through the worst phase and it is wrong to increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs60 in a week. There were formal talks with Russia on cheap oil and we had conveyed to Russia in writing we wanted to buy cheap oil from it in April.”