Zardari, Qureshi criticise hike in POL prices

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  •  PPP co-chairman terms it a cruel move

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday termed the recent increase, up to Rs2.5 per litre, in prices of petroleum products as a ‘cruel move’ by the current government.

Zardari said that that the government was creating difficulties for the people instead of providing them relief, adding the price hike will cause more inflation in the country; therefore, this decision should be withdrawn.

The former president also labelled government’s fiscal policies as the enemy of poverty-stricken people.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi also criticised the hike, saying the PTI would raise the issue in the assembly.

Furthermore, the latest hike in petroleum prices has also been challenged in the Lahore High Court.

The petition filed by Azhar Siddiq advocate argued that the government was collecting additional tax on petroleum products, adding the increase in retail prices of the petroleum products is way more than the increase in its prices in the international market.