Political parties slam hike in POL prices

PESHAWAR: The leaders of political parties on Friday condemned hike in the prices of the petroleum products (POL).

Awami National Party (ANP) head Asfandyar Wali Khan through a statement said that the people would die of starvation but the rulers would not take any step.

He said that the poor segment of the society was directly affected by the rise in the prices of petrol, gas and LPG. He said that the hike in the prices every fortnightly had destroyed the economy of the country.

The ministers were still claiming that the prices in Pakistan were low in comparison with other regional countries, he added.

He said that the person who would claim that he would commit suicide instead of borrowing from IMF was still the prime minister of the country.

He said that the government after the petroleum price-hike claimed that it had collected record taxes.

The masses were forced to pay huge taxes but were not given any relief, he added

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) provincial president Amir Muqam on Friday termed increase in prices of petroleum products as great injustice with the people and said it would lead to further price-hike in the country.

In a statement, he said about a 39 percent increase has been made in the prices of the petroleum products in the last three years’ rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“The anti-people step has exposed the true face of PTI which has been claiming to bring down inflation,” he added. The unprecedented price-hike in the country was the result of the PTI government’s wrong policies and its anti-people agenda, he added.

He said when in opposition, Imran Khan would use to say that corrupt rulers increase POL prices, but now he defends the rise in petroleum products’ prices even twice in a month.

Amir Muqam said Imran Khan’s government proved to be the worst in the history of the country, which shifted all burden to the poor masses to fulfil the conditions of International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding the current rise in POL prices would further escalate prices of essential commodities.

Rejecting the recent increase in the POL prices, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was least bothered to provide relief to people.

Addressing a gathering at Karimi House in Gulbahar locality in the provincial capital, he said the prices of the petroleum products had reached the higher-evert mark in the country’s history.

“The fresh hike in the POL tariff will cause more inflation and add to the economic woes of the people who are already grappling with unemployment,” he believed.

On this occasion, several workers of Awami National Party and PTI, including Salahuddin, Ghulam Mustafa, Jamil Khan, Arsalan Khan, Abdul Latif Khan, Mohammad Imran and others announced joining the QWP along with their families and supporters.

They reposed confidence in the party leadership and vowed to strengthen the party.

Pakistan People’s Party also rejected the hike and said that the authoritarian tactics of the government would be resisted.

PPP district president Zulfiqar Afghani said that the record hike in the prices in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was forcing the masses to start a protest campaign.