LAHORE: Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Moin Riaz Qureshi has condemned the government’s failure in managing petrol supply in the country and termed Rs55.55 increase in per litre prices ‘economic murder’ of the poor.

“Poverty has reached 43 per cent and unemployment is at a 21-year high,” said Mr Qureshi flanked by MPAs Imtiaz Ali Warraich, Farrukh Javed Moon, Haroon Akbar, and Hanbal Sana Kareemi while speaking at a news conference at Lahore Press Club on Monday.

He said the opening of an inflation floodgate would destroy people and added the hike in fuel prices would cripple farmers following the wheat and sugar crisis.

He said the government was supposed to support people and regretted that this ‘Form-47 government’ had nothing to do with the people’s interest.

He said Covid had brought about a global economic crisis during the PTI government but Pakistan’s economy stood strong. Now, he said, the country’s economy was collapsing due to the government’s incompetence. Stating that the government had 15-20 days’ petrol stock, he asked why it increased prices on its old stock?

Mr Qureshi said the government was buying billion-rupee planes and failed to justify the procurement over questions in the Punjab Assembly.

He said PTI founder Imran Khan talked about getting cheap oil from Russia.

Referring that Pakistan has not been able to buy less costly petrol from Russia unlike India and Europe, he asked, “Is this a diplomatic failure”.

The PTI opposition leader and MPAs strongly condemned Israel’s attack on Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei and his associates.

He stressed that the PTI, under its founder’s leadership, believed in peace. “The founder had said Pakistan will play a role in promoting peace. We demand that the government plays its part in regional peace,” Mr Qureshi said.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026