LAHORE, Jan 1: Opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has alleged that the government is fleecing people by recovering from them Rs30 as petroleum tax on each litre.

Khan, who had been petroleum minister five times, told a press conference here on Thursday that the government collected Rs20 billion just in three months by not reducing oil prices in proportion with the cut in the prices at international level.

He said oil was available at Rs26 per litre in the local market in Jan 2005 when its price in the international market was $40 per barrel. He said the government should provide relief to consumers (by reducing oil prices). He said gas prices were at the lowest of the last four years, but the government increased the prices in the local market, forcing factories and mills to close.

He said big fish in the stock exchange, who were responsible for the present price hike, were being bailed out by the government, but small investors were being ignored totally.

He was critical of the government’s performance on the Pales-tinian front. He demanded the government play a proactive role in convening OIC conference and devise a strategy to ameliorate the lot of Palestinians. — Staff Reporter