ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The composition of the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) which determines oil pricing in the country was challenged in the Supreme Court here on Friday.

Filed under fundamental rights, petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider, Chairman, Awami Himayat Tehrik Pakistan, through a fresh petition contended that the composition of OCAC was illegal and had no legal sanctity since the nine-member committee had no government representative.

Therefore, OCAC had no legal right to impose or levy taxes on the public by increasing petroleum prices except through the annual budget.

He said that on Oct 1, the price of petrol was increased from Rs52.61 to Rs56.29 per litre, the price of diesel was increased from Rs34.59 to Rs37.18 per litre, and the price of kerosene was increased from Rs31 to Rs32.87 per litre, and added that this increase in prices should be declared unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary.

He said that due to increase of petrol prices from time to time through OCAC’s own pricing formula, the prices of other items of everyday life, including vegetables, fruits and transport fares, go up automatically, thus defeating the very concept of annual budgets.

Maulvi Iqbal also requested the court to restrain the respondents from increasing petroleum prices in future pending decision.

Earlier, the petitioner had moved a similar petition against the increase in petrol price by Rs3.67 by pushing it to Rs52.61 from Rs48.94 per litre, but it becomes infructous after the recent increase.

He said the announcement of the prime minister about the availability of 500 articles at 50 per cent reductions in government utility stores had become useless due to this increase.

Calculating the prices, he explained, at international rates petrol was available at $66 per barrel containing 218 litres, which meant one barrel of oil in Pakistan should be available at Rs3,982 meaning thereby that the price of one litre of oil in the country should be Rs18.20 only but it was being sold at three times its original price.