KARACHI, Jan 16: Terming the reduction in the diesel and petrol prices as peanuts, speakers at a conference on Tuesday demanded that the prices be lowered realistically and fixed in accordance with the international prices.

Speaking at the All Parties Conference organised by the Jamat Islami at Idara Noor-i-Haq in connection with the rising street crime, unemployment, inflation etc, they said the prices of oil in the international markets had gone down from $78 to $53 (by about 33 per cent), but only a friction of it had been passed onto the masses here.

They said that if the POL prices were brought down, they would help cut the transport cost an ultimately cut the prices of all the goods — wheat flour, pulses, rice, etc — by 20 to 30 per cent.

They demanded that stern action be taken against the black marketers so that the huge quantities of essential commodities that they had taken away from the market and kept in their godowns to earn huge profit be brought to the market and the people could get essential commodities at reasonable prices.

They urged that the menace of unemployment be checked and more employment opportunities on merit be provided. They also demanded that steps be taken to improve the law and order situation and extortion and to control other such illegal activities that were being carried out under the official patronage.

They also demanded that owing to the opening of various satellite channels floodgates of vulgarity had been opened and people, particularly the young generation, were being affected by it.

Prof Ghafoor Ahmad and Dr Mairaj-ul-Huda of the Jamat Islami, Sindh ARD chief Zain Ansari, Prof N. D. Khan of the PPP, Zubair Khan of the Tehreek-i-Insaf, Siddiq Rathore of the MMA, Allama Nazeer Abbas Taqvi of the Islami Tehreek, Mir Nawaz Khan Marwat of the PML-N, Basharat Mirza of the PDP, Nusrat Mirza of the Muslim Rabita Council, Khan Mohammad Baloch of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Afzal Sardar of Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadees and others also spoke.