KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi holds a meeting with TTAP at National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Achakzai’s house. PHOTO: TTAP
ISLAMABAD:
Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), a major opposition alliance, announced plans on Sunday to launch a protest campaign against the recent rise in oil prices and said it is seeking support from other political parties for a joint movement.
Speaking to The Express Pakinomist, TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai said the party was in touch with allied political groups, including the PTI, to finalize a coordinated response.
“We and PTI are on the same page on this issue. However, consultations are going on with other parties that are part of the alliance. After taking them on board, we will finalize a course of action,” he said.
He added that a parliamentary meeting of the alliance had been called for Monday, where the issue will be discussed in detail.
The party also plans to reach out to other opposition parties that are not part of the alliance, including JUIF led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to join the protest movement.
In a separate statement issued earlier in the day, TTAP strongly condemned the rise in oil prices, saying that despite a fall in global oil prices over the past week, the government had raised fuel prices primarily through an increase in oil excise duty, which it said was unrelated to international oil trends.
The party claimed that petrol prices in Pakistan had risen by 61 per cent since the Iran-US tensions, compared to 38 per cent in Sri Lanka and 16 per cent in Bangladesh, while remaining unchanged in India, calling it “evidence of government failure”.
It said rising fuel prices had increased transport and food costs and pushed inflation into double digits, warning that such policies were exacerbating economic hardship and unemployment.
TTAP said it would announce protest demonstrations in the coming days against what it called “anti-people politics.
Fuel prices in Pakistan have shown a sustained upward trend since late February amid heightened regional tensions and repeated adjustments to oil taxes, with successive hikes contributing to rising transport and commodity costs.
The protest announcement came shortly after the government hiked petrol prices by Rs14.92 per liter to Rs414.78, a move that further intensified political criticism over rising fuel costs, adding to ongoing concerns over inflationary pressures.
