KARACHI:
The prices of petroleum products are rising and rising — and the government is simply unable to arrest the trend. Currently, petrol is being sold for Rs225 per litre and diesel for Rs247 per litre. These historically high prices are adding to the financial burden on the common man in more ways than one. The high prices of petrol and diesel have led to an increase in transport fares; and a higher cost of transportation has caused an increase in the prices of fruits, vegetables and other essential commodities. The cost of power generation has also risen due to costlier petrol, and consumers are getting inflated electricity bills. Higher power bills have in turn raised the cost of production at factories and manufacturing units, which is proving to be heavy on the pockets of the common man.
It goes without saying that high prices of petroleum products have been agonising, and there is need for the government to come up with a solution to make petrol and diesel available on affordable rates. The government must consider importing cheaper oil either from Iran or Russia, as high oil prices are fuelling the fire of inflation in the country, causing unrest among people and triggering a sense of hatred against the government of the day.
Fiza Zakir
Kech
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2022.
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