ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: Acting parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has stressed the need for mobilizing the public against high oil prices in the country.

Speaking at a news conference here on Saturday, the PML-N leader said opposition parties would finalize a strategy in a meeting on Tuesday to mobilize people against the unjustified high prices of petroleum products.

He said though the meeting had been convened mainly to discuss the issue of the proposed parliamentary committee on earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, the opposition leaders would also discuss ways to mobilize the public against the government’s decision of not reducing oil prices despite a massive fall in the international market rates.

Mr Khan, who is a former minister of petroleum and natural resources, said it was time that all sections of the society, including traders, transporters, lawyers and union leaders, joined hands and raised their voice against this unjust decision of the government.

Quoting official documents, he said oil prices had been increased 109 times since Gen Pervez Musharraf took over in October 1999.

He said oil prices were increased 33 times from December 1999 to June 2002, when the country was getting 100,000 barrels of oil per day free of cost from Saudi Arabia.

He said during over one year period of Shaukat Aziz, oil prices were increased 26 times.

The PML-N leader said the government had collected Rs6.5 billion under the head of petroleum surcharge during the financial year 2004-5. He said during the financial year of 2003- 04, the regime had collected Rs41.5 billion under the same head. He further claimed that when the country was getting oil free of cost, the government managed to collect Rs66 billion under the petroleum surcharge.