Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said Thursday while talking to media in Karachi Press Club that the prices of petrol, diesel, electricity and gas would be inflated further, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
He said, “In the coming days, the inflation rate will be recorded at 30 per cent. The prices of flour, pulses, oil, vegetables, fruits, and milk have risen sharply. The prices of consumer goods will further rise by 35 to 40 per cent in the next few weeks.”
He flayed, “The government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is not doing the oil and gas trade with Russia due to fear of the United States (US). The wholesale price index has risen by 39 per cent. The government is doing all this on the directions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
He added, “The health card and Kamyab Jawan programmes are closed everywhere except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This is the government of the incompetents.”
He questioned, “How will the factories run if the fuel is not imported? The loadshedding of electricity was 6,000 megawatts in May 2022. It touched 8,000 megawatts in June 2022.”
He criticised, “The prime minister had said that there would be no loadshedding, but, more loadshedding is being carried out. The government does not have the money to buy coal and gas. It asks the people to live without electricity, for it has got no money.”
He warned, “The textile and auto sectors and the business of mobile manufacturers are on the verge of collapse. Countless workers have lost their jobs. The rate of the Kibor rates is gradually increasing.”
He claimed, “I had argued with the IMF that I will not impose more taxes on the taxpayers. But now, the stock market has fallen by 5,000 points, and 400 textile mills are going to close.”