PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan addresses the national conference of Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aain Pakistan, flanked by alliance chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai and his deputy Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, at Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad. SCREEN GRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Opposition parties on Saturday slammed the government’s decision to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs 55 per litre, denouncing it as an “inflationary bomb” that would add pressure on households already struggling to make ends meet amid soaring living costs.
Opposition leaders warned the move would set off a new spiral of inflation and called on the government to roll back the hike without delay.
The steep rise comes as Pakistan grapples with the economic fallout from the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, which has thrown a wrench into trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for the country’s oil imports.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the decision was the “worst form of governance and a serious anti-people move”.
“When people are already struggling to make ends meet, such decisions are tantamount to rubbing salt into the people’s wounds,” he said at X.
Abbas questioned whether ordinary citizens or the ruling elite would ultimately bear the burden, noting that the government already collects more than Rs100 per liter in oil taxes.
“The need of the hour is for the government – instead of putting the burden on the people, cutting its privileges – protocol and unnecessary expenses and immediately provide relief to the people,” he said.
He added that if the Middle East conflict drags on, it could also threaten food security, and calls on the government to support agriculture through subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and other inputs.
Abbas also said that inflation is seriously affecting government employees and called for the payment of two extra salaries ahead of Eid.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s political committee also condemned the decision, lamenting it as a “cruel” move that puts further financial pressure on the public.
The party criticized the ruling coalition for “burdening the people with inflation instead of providing them with relief, while the ruling elite’s own extravagance continues to escalate unabated”.
“On the one hand, there is an abundance of government planes and lavish perks for the government officials imposed through Form 47. On the other hand, petrol prices have been pushed beyond the reach of the poor public,” the party said.
In a separate post on its official X account, PTI said: “The Rs 55 per liter ‘petrol bomb’ detonated by Shehbaz Sharif’s illegitimate Form47 government will push ordinary Pakistanis deeper into economic crisis.”
PTI’s Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram called the hike the “worst petrol bomb in history” and said the decision would make transport, food and other essentials more expensive.
“Petrol and diesel [are made] expensive, but why are rulers’ planes and protocols cheap?” he asked.
“Gasoline is expensive, electricity is expensive, flour is expensive. Where will the public go? There is extravagant protocol for those in power, [but] a hell of inflation for the public.”
PTI MNA Junaid Akbar also slammed the government, saying it had “used the global market as an excuse” to raise fuel prices while maintaining taxes of over Rs 100 per liter on petrol.
Meanwhile, PPP parliamentarians’ spokesperson Shazia Marri expressed “serious concern and regret” over the price hike and termed the Rs 55 per liter hike a huge financial burden on the public.
In a statement, she said the second fuel price hike in the holy month of Ramazan was deeply unfortunate and would trigger another wave of inflation.
