PESHAWAR: The leaders of political parties and representatives of traders have urged government to slash price of petroleum products by at least Rs40 per litre in the wake of massive slump in oil prices in the international market.

Awami National Party general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial secretary information Ikhtiar Wali Khan, ANP lawmaker Sardar Hussain Babak, Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Mohammad Humayun Khan, Peshawar Wholesale Food Grain Dealers and General Merchants Association representative Haji Sher Shah and PPP lawmaker Ahmad Karim Kundi said that lockdown and high transportation charges were main reasons of price hike in Ramazan.

“Prices of daily use commodities cannot be brought down unless charges of goods transport are reduced by slashing oil price in line with international market,” Mian Iftikhar told Dawn.

He said that despite record reduction in prices of oil in the international market, the government had announced to keep petroleum prices unchanged for three months.

He said that government had failed to achieve its tax collection target so it was not reducing prices of petroleum products just to meet the expenditures. He said that government did not provide any concrete relief to people. It proved that the rulers could not fulfil their tall claims about ‘change’ and only used attractive slogans to reach the power corridors, he added.

Politicians, traders say lockdown and high transportation charges main reasons of price hike

The PML-N provincial spokesman said that government should slash prices of petroleum products by at least Rs40 per litr as price of crude oil had come down to a record low level internationally.

He alleged that government was focussing only on victimisation of opposition parties but doing nothing for the welfare of people.

Traders’ representative Haji Sher Shah said that main reasons of the recent hike in flour price were illegal tax collection at Attock checkpost and high transportation charges.

He said that last month the government announced to reduce the prices of all petroleum products by Rs15 per litre but transporters did not reduce the charges as they had to pay bribes to police due to the restrictions.

PPP’s Humayun Khan said that government increased general sales tax on petrol and diesel from 13 per cent to 17 per cent that would further enhance the cost of doing business, as petrol and diesel were the key inputs for some sectors of the economy, including agriculture and industry.

He said that it was astonishing whenever oil price in international market was increased the rulers used to abruptly pass on the burden to the consumers but when the fuel price was reduced its benefits were not passed on to people.

MPAs Ahmad Karim Kundi, Sardar Hussain Babak and former MPA Dr Faiza Rasheed also urged government to reduce the oil prices in line with international market to provide relief to people, who faced financial problems owing to price hike and lockdown.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2020