KARACHI, June 9: The National Transport Ittehad had demanded setting up of a bipartisan parliamentary committee comprising members from both ruling and opposition benches to regulate oil prices in the country.

At a meeting with its chairman Saleem Khan Bangash in the chair, the Oil and Gas Regulating Authority (Ogra) came under severe criticism for failing to bring down POL prices.

A large number of representatives of various organisations of public transport operators. They included owners and operators of buses, minibuses, coaches, rickshaws, taxis, yellow cabs, gravel-loading trucks, trailer-trucks and inter-provincial passenger/goods services.

The meeting expressed its deep concern over the government’s apathy towards resolving the problems being faced by the transporters community. They strongly criticised the Ogra for not effecting any reduction in POL prices in Pakistan despite a downslide in the international market. It said that the policymaking body’s attitude was increasing unrest among the transporters community.

The meeting rejected the federal budget as ‘anti-poor’, saying that it failed to bring down prices of wheat flour, sugar, milk and other commodities of daily-use. It said that instead of making tall claims, the government should come out with some concrete steps to control price-hike, especially of the essential items like flour and sugar.

The meeting said the transporters community was not satisfied with the role of Ogra, and called for the setting up of a truly representative body to fix and regulate POL prices. It maintained that the benefit of falling oil prices in the international market must trickle down to the end-consumer in Pakistan.

The meeting also demanded an immediate halt to the demolition of settlements in goths and katchi abadis.-—PPI