| PML-N President says supporters of current regime will face people’s ire | Bilawal observes PM intensifies inflation bombings on masses | Opposition blames government for ‘most cruel’ hike in petrol price
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The opposition leaders lambasted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday for a record hike in the price of petroleum products, calling the increase in the price like exploding a “petrol bomb” on people.
A day earlier, at the stroke of midnight, the government made a massive increase of up to Rs12.03 per litre in the prices of petroleum products, taking that of petrol to a record level of Rs159.86 per litre effective from February 16. The price of petrol broke all previous records by reaching the Rs160 per litre mark.
In a tweet, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif termed the hike “insensitive, heartless and cruel”. He urged the masses to teach Imran Khan a “befitting lesson at the time of elections”.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also rejected the hike. He said, “After inflation, unemployment, poverty, dollar, and corruption, petroleum prices have also touched record high in Imran Khan’s government.”
PML-N leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar said the devaluation of the rupee has landed the Pakistani nation with “unaffordable prices”.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said petrol will become “unaffordable in Pakistan” after the recent hike. She said the government raised prices even though the global prices went down a day ago.
‘Not happy about hike’
Special Assisant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said the government was not happy about the petrol hike as the prime minister “thinks about the poor”. He claimed the government had no option but to raise the price of petrol as it “increased from $40 to $95”.
He said either the government could take more loans and provide subsidies on petrol that would eventually compromise Pakistan’s
foreign policy or “we can
stand together in this tough time” till it’s over.
In the next two to three months, global inflation, including petrol prices, will likely come down, Gill hoped.
