Govt urged not to take 'sides' in Iran conflict

Leaders of the opposition alliance and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday urged the government to immediately withdraw from the Board of Peace, avoid becoming a party to the Iran war and reverse the steep increase in petroleum prices.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, senior party leader Babar Awan and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas made the demand while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

Raja said the Gulf region was facing an extraordinary situation and warned that "barbarity" had been imposed on the region. He said negotiations previously held in Oman had been close to reaching a conclusion but were derailed by "Zionist forces".

"It is time for Pakistan to play its role because we are a nuclear power," he said.

Raja added that property destruction should not occur in Arab countries or elsewhere and stressed that the crisis must be resolved through dialogue. "Everyone will have to sit at the negotiating table," he said, urging leaders to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Raja said the Rs55 per litre increase in petrol prices indicated what could lie ahead economically for the country.

He claimed that no other country in the region had raised prices to such an extent and accused the elite of taking advantage of the situation rather than reducing their own spending.