KARACHI, Sept 4: Instead of providing some relief to poverty-stricken masses, the rulers are bent to snatch the last morsel from the mouths of poor people. This was stated by MMA leaders while addressing a protest demonstration in front of Karachi Press Club against rise in oil prices on Sunday.

MMA Karachi President Hafiz Muhammad Taqi, MNA Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, MPA Nasrullah Shajee, JI Central Amir Muhammad Muslim and others spoke on the occasion.

They alleged that despite tall claims of progress and prosperity, the poor masses had been grinding in the mill of poverty and joblessness. They said that unprecedented raise in prices of petroleum products was an atrocity to the people. They said that those boasting of broadmindedness and enlightened moderation had miserably failed to provide a relief to the poor.

The MMA leaders said that price hike had crossed all limits and joblessness had forced citizens to commit suicides but the rulers were least bothered.

They said that hike of oil prices would open the floodgates of inflation and multiply sorrows and sufferings of the poor. “Why people are committing suicides when state coffers were bursting with foreign exchange reserves?” they asked. They said that all claims of rulers regarding betterment in economic conditions of the country had proved to be a farce.

They demanded that the recent rise in oil prices should be immediately withdrawn and the poor masses must be provided with some economic relief.

Meanwhile, the central leader of Sunni Tehreek, Muhammad Akram Qadri, while talking to a delegation of transporters criticized the government for recent increase in oil prices.

He said that the increase would multiply sufferings of the poor masses and appealed to the government to withdraw its decision in the large interest of people.—PPI