Opposition members staged a protest in the National Assembly on Friday against the government\u2019s sharp increase in petroleum prices, with lawmakers chanting slogans while surrounding the speaker\u2019s podium in a show of defiance.<\/p>\n
The government on Thursday\u00a0further increased\u00a0petrol prices by Rs137 per litre to a record-high of Rs458.4\u00a0after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to impose more taxes on consumers.<\/p>\n
The Rs458.4 per litre new price of petrol is also far higher than the increase in the international market\u00a0as PM Shehbaz decided to increase the petroleum levy to a record Rs160.61 per litre on petrol.<\/p>\n
It was the second major increase in the fuel prices in less than a month after PM Shehbaz\u00a0increased\u00a0the diesel and petrol prices by Rs55 per litre last month. The cumulative increase in the petrol price within a month stands at 63%, and that of the high-speed diesel at 75%.<\/p>\n
During the protest, some opposition members tore up copies of the assembly\u2019s agenda in frustration. They insisted on addressing the House over the petroleum price hike, but Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah told them he would allow points of order only after the question hour.<\/p>\n
The protest continued despite the warning, and the floor was temporarily given to opposition member Junaid Akbar Khan. Khan, criticising the government, said, \u201cThis incompetent and thieving government was imposed on Pakistan. Last night, this imposed government dropped a petrol bomb on the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khan also spoke against a state institution, prompting the deputy speaker to respond sternly: \u201cIf you continue speaking against institutions in this manner, I will not allow the session to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other opposition members, including JUI\u2019s Noor Alam Khan, called on the speaker to allow parliamentarians to discuss the soaring prices of petroleum products, highlighting the public\u2019s growing frustration over rising fuel and electricity costs.<\/p>\n
Following the protest, the National Assembly session was adjourned until Monday.<\/p>\n
Read:\u00a0Oil tanker contractors threaten halt of tankers after sharp fuel price hike<\/p>\n
The government increased the prices after it\u00a0failed to convince\u00a0the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allow it to give more subsidies. The IMF capped the maximum subsidies on fuel at Rs152 billion.<\/p>\n
However, the most shocking action of the government was to increase the petroleum levy rate to Rs161 per litre on petrol to raise additional funds for cross-subsidising the diesel prices. The government outsourced the state\u2019s core function to protect its citizens to the petrol consumers.<\/p>\n
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman\u00a0said “the brutal increase in the price of petrol and diesel is unacceptable” and announced a protest movement across the country from Friday in a post on X.<\/p>\n
JI’s Munim Zafar, during a press conference in Karachi on Friday, demanded the government roll back the petrol price hike and reiterated the start of the protest movement across Karachi, with a demonstration scheduled outside Millennium Mall at 8pm.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former finance minister Miftah Ismail also raised eyebrows at the increase in government levy, stating that the government last night raised petrol prices by Rs79 per litre, but at the same time decided to “raise taxes on petrol” by Rs55 for a total increase of Rs134 per litre. “And it keeps saying it doesn\u2019t want to burden the people and wants to lift the burden itself,” he remarked.<\/p>\n
Former Sindh governor\u00a0Muhammad Zubair\u00a0also questioned why Pakistan has “the most expensive petrol in the region.” According to him, petrol costs Rs286 in India, Rs280 in Bangladesh, Rs322 in Nepal, and Rs406 in Sri Lanka as compared to Pakistan’s Rs459.<\/p>\n
“Only one reason: We are the most incompetent and\u00a0corrupt compared to all these countries,” the former governor asserted.<\/p>\n
He further noted\u00a0that government austerity measures have been subpar, amounting to only “minor temporary 2-month austerity”.<\/p>\n
Another ex-finance minister Asad Umar compared prices in India and Pakistan, saying that Pakistan’s petrol prices are currently 48% higher and diesel prices 92% higher than in neighbouring India.<\/p>\n
He argued\u00a0that the government\u2019s \u201cunwillingness to tax the rich and powerful\u201d has left ordinary citizens to bear the burden, with \u201cmost of the taxes being collected from the working middle class\u201d instead.<\/p>\n
Former finance minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa\u00a0Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra also took to X, saying, “A govt that wants relief has not just raised the price of petrol, it has raised the petroleum levy from Rs105 to Rs161 per litre. That is the highest ever tax on petrol in the history of Pakistan.”<\/p>\n
Moreover, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Natasha Dultana said that with petrol prices hiked overnight with “no warning, just another blow” to the people. “How long are citizens expected to carry this burden?”<\/p>\n
Barrister Saad Rasool predicted that the recent price hike “will push millions of hardworking people below the poverty line.”<\/p>\n
Former PTI minister Fawad Chaudhry deemed that the country’s population had now become “Naseem Shah, so they have imposed a fine!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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