Twin price hikes fuel passions in Senate

Govt under fire in Senate over POL price hike

ISLAMABAD:

The upper house of parliament on Friday witnessed the opposition’s outcry over the fresh wave of price hike, with its lawmakers chiding the incumbent government for capitulating to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) strict conditions to withdraw subsidies as petroleum products and power tariff soar skywards.

Disrupting the proceedings of the Senate, chaired by Sadiq Sanjrani, the opposition members carrying placards started gathering in front of the chairman's dais and chanted “Imported government na-manzoor” (imported government not acceptable).

Earlier, talking on the floor, PML-Q’s Kamil Ali Agha said the government has increased the difficulties of the masses by increasing petrol prices.

He criticised the increase in prices of petroleum products terming it unprecedented in the country’s history while lauding the previous government for subsidising the petroleum products to the tune of Rs466 billion.

Former finance minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shaukat Tarin said that the government should resist IMF’s harsh conditions to revive the programme and doubled down on his party's demand for the government to step down and hold general elections.

He added that he had foreseen the "collapse" the country's economy was to experience if the Imran Khan-led government was removed and claimed that the economic growth under the previous government had been now stymied at the hands of the PMLN-led coalition government.

He claimed the profit margin of oil refineries has been increased from Rs14 (in April) to Rs70 per litre.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers demanded that the government must ban the use of state vehicles by officials.

Mushtaq Ahmed Khan said in view of the difficult economic situation, no government functionary should use free petrol.

Leader of the Opposition Shehzad Waseem lashed out at the government for reneging on its "lofty promises", saying it sold the promise of bringing the petrol price to Rs70 and instead the price has whizzed past records, hitting Rs210 per litre.

Referring to the rising power tariff, he quipped that while electricity used to flow in the electrical wires when PTI was in the power, the current government has instead transferred that electricity to bills.

However, the proceedings turned unruly when the opposition members surrounded the chairman’s dais.

Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani asked the protesting members to go back to their seats and warned that the members who disrupted the proceedings would be suspended.

Addressing PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan, Sanjarani threatened that the lawmaker’s membership would be suspended if he doesn’t stop raising slogans. At this, the members returned to their seats.

The opposition later moved an adjournment motion moved by the opposition regarding hike in petroleum prices.

The house will now meet on Monday at 4pm.