KARACHI, March 1: Various political parties and transporters have strongly condemned the government for the upward revision in prices of petroleum products, saying it would severely affect the common man.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, condemning the recent enhancement in the prices of petroleum products, has demanded these be lowered and brought within the reach of the common man.

MMA National Assembly members Abdul Sattar Afghani, Laiq Khan and Mohammad Hussain Mahanti said the people, who were sick of regular enhancements in fuel prices by the Oil Companies Advisory Committee, have started looking towards the opposition parties to help them get rid of the exploitative government.

They urged the masses to participate in the MMA's million march, being organized in the city on March 20, to express their resentment against the government and to force it to take back the recent increase in POL prices.

They said while poverty and inflation were forcing people to commit suicides, the government had made an upward revision in the wages of ministers, an overwhelming majority of whom were already multi-millionaires.

They said though the prices of petroleum products were declining in the international markets, the government of Pakistan was increasing them here, calling it unjustified. They said it was creating and spreading unrest among the masses.

They said the MMA was against the government's economic, domestic as well as foreign policies, and it was planning to initiate a protest movement, particularly against the increase in the prices of petroleum products.

The chief of the PPP - Shaheed Bhutto, Ghinwa Bhutto, criticising the increase in petroleum prices, said the rise will start a chain reaction resulting in the enhancement of prices of all essential commodities as well, and which will directly affect the common people.

She said the government was on one hand repeatedly claiming that the country's economy was strong and foreign exchange reserves were increasing, while on the other it was regularly increasing the prices of petroleum products after every 15 days.

This proved that the government's claims were baseless and the economy of the country was dependent on the dictates of the oil producing countries, she claimed. She also rejected government claims that the economy was growing at a rate of between 7 and 8 per cent a year and that inflation had been checked.

She said that regular enhancement in fuel prices had led to an increase in prices of other goods and was eventually leading to a high rate of inflation, which was severely hurting the common man. She demanded that the prices be brought down.

TRANSPORTERS: The Karachi Transport Ittehad has also condemned the regular enhancement in the prices of petroleum products by the government, and has demanded that if the prices were not reduced and brought within the reach of the common man, transporters would halt their vehicles for an indefinite period.