Under tremendous pressure from the opposition as well as its allies, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government on Thursday supported a resolution for the reversal of the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products.
The National Assembly unanimously adopted a joint resolution to that effect, tabled by the largest opposition party – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – with the support of all parliamentary groups in the House.
The resolution called for immediate withdrawal of the notification increasing the prices of petroleum products. It stated that the increase would have a serious impact on the common man and also suggested that a House committee make the necessary recommendations to bring down the prices in a week’s time.
Earlier, National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said if the government was aware of the woes of the people then it should support the resolution. “First we should do legislation on the matters concerning the public and then go for the 20th Constitutional Amendment to give legal cover to by-elections during the time of the incomplete Election Commission of Pakistan,” he said.
He termed the justification given by the government for the increase in the petroleum prices “absurd”, as the revision in the international prices had not been reflected in the domestic prices. Nisar said the people had been subjected to fraud by the economic managers of the country for the last 10 years by raising the prices of oil products. “In the last 10 years, the oil prices saw upward revision 200 times, whereas only on a few occasions were the prices brought down,” Nisar said, adding that the figures presented by the government were completely bogus.
He dubbed the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) ‘Jugga Tax’ (extortion tax), which had been charged to all sections of society for the luxuries of government functionaries.
Earlier, on a calling-attention notice, lawmakers from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) benches criticised the increase in petroleum prices and lashed out at Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain for announcing the increased prices before the due date, which they said gave undue advantage to dealers of petroleum products.
Dr Hussain said the Petroleum Ministry had nothing to do with the price increase as the matter purely pertained to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), which was an independent body that fixed prices. During the proceedings, the power to the National Assembly went out due to technical reasons and the House went dark for some time.
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