Petrol price cut of no use after hike in ghee, gas prices: Shehbaz
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Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that increase in the prices of ghee and cooking oil by Rs23 and Rs24, respectively and 16.37 percent hike in the prices of LPG and gas had neutralized whatever ‘relief’ Rs10 per liter slash in petrol price had given to the people, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In a statement, he said that the government’s notification of Rs10 per liter cut in the petrol price now stood informally withdrawn following recent increase in the rates of these items. “If the government is really serious in providing relief to the people, then it should withdraw over Rs4 per unit hike in electricity prices,” Shehbaz said, and added it was feared that the people might have to pay for whatever ‘relief’ they had been given by the government recently in the shape of more inflation in days to come.
PML-N president said the prices of wheat, flour, electricity and sugar registered 100 per cent increase during the last three years of the present government. “This is a record-breaking increase,” he opined.
Shehbaz expressed the hope that the no-trust motion the opposition parties planned to bring against the government in the National Assembly would provide ‘real’ relief to the inflation-hit people. “On one side, there are people whose lives have become miserable because of massive price hike, while on the other there are ‘corrupt’ rulers,” he alleged.
He went on to say that the country’s trade deficit now stood at 82 per cent, while circular debts had jumped by 114 per cent.
Leader of the opposition asked as to who would compensate for $32 billion trade deficit which had been on the rise for the last eight months and had ruined the country’s economy. “Will the masses again be made to pay for the colossal trade loss?” he queried.
Similarly, Shehbaz added, imports had doubled under the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.
He claimed that the government had provided a safe haven to the owners of black money.