Protests against hike in petrol prices, inflation to continue: Sherry

ISLAMABAD: PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman on Friday announced continuing protests against the increase in petrol prices and rising inflation and said the veil hiding the government’s incompetence and dishonesty came off long ago.

“Instead of closing the gap between the rich and the poor, this government is setting new records for inflation and price hike. The PPP will oppose this at every forum,” she said while addressing a press conference at the Parliament House along with Senator Rubina Khalid and Senator Behramand Tungi.

Questioning how a relief package that amounts to Rs 5 a day for 20 million people will put a dent in any household’s financial stress, Sherry said days after announcing a so-called relief package, the government dropped another petrol bomb at midnight, imposing yet another hike in petrol prices by a whopping Rs 8.14 per litre. “For the third consecutive month, the price of petrol has beaten all previous records and is now at Rs 145.8 per litre and this is the first time in Pakistan’s history that the prices of all petroleum products are above Rs 110 per litre,” she said, adding that this has a clear impact on prices of goods across every sector and due to constant spikes in food inflation, the price of cooking oil has gone up by 130 per cent. “Who can cook anymore in Naya Pakistan? With gas going up by 300 per cent, who can afford using his stoves? It is now just a matter of time before a humanitarian disaster unfolds in Pakistan this winter.”

She said that in three years of this government, the prices of chicken have gone up by 60 per cent while the flour price is up by 50 per cent. “This government is forcing people towards poverty and starvation.”

Discussing the debt crisis, she said: “We are paying for the most indebted government in the history of Pakistan.” The public debt is Rs 39.9 trillion which is 83.5 per cent of the GDP whereas the circular debt stands at Rs 2.379 trillion. “The PPP had comprehensive policies to manage the debt, despite a global financial crisis whereas the PTI has demonstrated missteps after missteps. This government is completely clueless,” she said, adding that the Pakistani rupee is much weaker than the Bangladeshi Taka or Indian rupee, and whose fault is that.

She said despite global recession, at the beginning of the PPP’s tenure, exports rose by 44 per cent which is the highest-ever increase recorded in a quarter in the country's history. “We focused on increasing Pakistan’s exports as it was crucial in reducing the trade deficit,” she said.

She said while the government is busy bringing NAB ordinances, it is conveniently silent on the whereabouts of Rs 821 billion that the NAB claims to have recovered. It is shocking that a huge amount has disappeared and no one has addressed it, she said.