KARACHI, June 1: The coordination committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has criticized the fresh raise in prices of petroleum products by the oil companies advisory committee.

In a statement on Saturday, the committee said that the increase in the prices was highly condemnable and was tantamount to overburdening the poor masses further. The government is never tired of making pledges that it was taking measures for the elimination of inflation and provision of commodities to masses on cheaper rates, but the ground realities were contradicting its claims as there had been spiral hikes in prices.

The statement said that there was no let-up as far as the increase in POL prices was concerned and thus the transport fares had not only been increased, but there would be adverse multiplying effects of that in other sectors too. It also referred to the imposition of GST on electricity and maintained that all such measures were causing a surge in unemployment and poverty.

The committee demanded of President Pervez Musharraf to order an immediate withdrawal of increase in the POL prices and stop such measures that were bound to affect the poor masses. Despite decline in the oil prices in the international market, the people in the country were never given benefit of that and the latest increase in the prices gave to understand that the government had no interest in reducing the hardship of the masses, the statement added.