ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Monday demanded the devolution of the petroleum ministry and a price adjustment mechanism on a daily or monthly basis instead of the current weekly review, DawnNews reported.

The committee made the demand during its meeting held under the chairmanship of Engineer Tariq Khattak in Islamabad.

Khattak proposed that all provinces must have their own petroleum ministry as they had grown weary of the decisions of the federal ministry.

He said it was difficult to ensure decrease in petroleum prices even after the downward trend in the international market as there was no proper mechanism installed to review the prices of petroleum products in the country.

The committee, after declaring the weekly review mechanism of petroleum price as dictatorial, recommended that the review must be carried out on a daily or monthly basis.

The committee members also demanded to set petroleum prices to the July 31, 2012 level. They said that protests on hike in POL prices by political parties, public interest groups and other institutions, including the standing committees, fell on the petroleum ministry’s deaf ears.

Due to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s visit of the petroleum ministry, officials adjourned the meeting.