KARACHI: Calling it “brutal,” the opposition parties on Tuesday strongly condemned the fresh increase in petroleum prices, fearing that the move would “dissipate the middle and lower middle class” and termed it a failure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, which had only proved itself a “front of International Monetary Fund (IMF).”

In their immediate reaction soon after the government announced a massive hike of Rs19 in petrol and diesel prices, taking them to Rs272.95 and 273.40 per litre respectively, the opposition parties came up with their stances and called it a “disastrous move” by the ruling elite to save their skin in the name of economic reforms following the deal with the IMF.

The newly appointed Karachi president of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Khurrum Sher Zaman in a statement called the increase “an extremely cruel move by the imported government,” fearing that it would invite inflation at a staggering pace.

“This move would almost dissipate the middle and lower middle class,” he said. “The finance minister and his team are nothing but a bunch of incompetent people who were presented as real experts of economy before their appointment. During the last 16 months, the PDM government has only made the lives of Pakistanis miserable. The leaders of the ruling parties should be ashamed of calling themselves political workers and democrats,” he added.

PTI, JI, GDA members condemn the increase, say it will crush the middle- and lower-middle classes

Jamaat-i-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, strongly condemning the increase in petroleum prices, demanded the outgoing PDM government to withdraw the decision immediately, warning that the decision would push many below the poverty line.

“The recent hike in petroleum prices is economic massacre of the already marooned masses. The inflation has already hit hard to the vast majority in the country, and to add insult to the injury, the government has increased the prices of petroleum products,” he said in a statement.

He said the middle class in the country, which is actually the only taxpayer segment of the society, had been shrinking since long but the ruling elite has nothing to do with the crisis it has been facing. On one hand, the government is spending foreign exchange overwhelmingly on purchasing luxury vehicles and other items for the bureaucracy, while on the other, it was “petrol bombs” after giving them “electric shocks” through recent increase in power tariff.

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) – an umbrella organisation of opposition parties in Sindh – while rejecting the increase in petroleum prices, warned the parties in the government that their decision days before completing the term of rule would badly cost them in the upcoming general elections.

“This storm of inflation brought by the ruling parties would wash them away in the elections,” said Sardar Abdul Rahim, senior GDA leader and spokesman of the opposition alliance. “It’s time to give relief to the already inflation-hit people but the government and its allies decided to test the patience of the people only to meet their luxury lifestyles. They have actually put the burden of their corruption over the people of Pakistan,” he added.

He demanded the government to withdraw the decision, as it would bring more inflation which would ultimately deprive millions of Pakistanis from making both ends meet.

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd, 2023