Opposition parties unleashed a strong verbal attack on the government on Thursday for the third consecutive day for denying relief to the consumers after the petroleum products' prices in the world market had registered downward trend.
"Denial of relief to hard-pressed consumers is the most serious issue concerning over 150 million people," they contended. The opposition wanted an explanation on contradictory statements: one by Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon and the second by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Jadoon gave an assurance to the National Assembly the other day that POL prices would soon be revised downward, while Shaukat insisted that no such relief would be given to the consumers.
The opposition leaders, including Chaudhry Nisar, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri expressed astonishment on the glaring contradiction.
Former petroleum minister Nisar Ali Khan was the first to raise the matter on a point of order, saying the consumers were being crushed by allowing the multinationals to pocket huge profits.
Jadoon rejected his contention, saying the government believed in transparency and had to bear Rs 70 billion burden in the shape of subsidies on POL products.
However, a day before, the prime minister claimed Rs 60 billion were given as subsidies. Before that Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub during the Senate session had given different statistics vis-à-vis subsidies, ie, Rs 40 billion.
NWFP and Balochistan assemblies had already passed resolutions, asking for downward revision of petroleum products' prices. Their prices have come down from $71 per barrel to $56-57 per barrel in recent weeks.
In its two fortnightly meetings, the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) has kept the prices unchanged, triggering sharp reaction from all the sections of the society.
Nisar charged the government was reluctant to allow in-house debate on the issue, which was the most pertinent in the given situation.
"We are ready to answer to the government's points on keeping prices unchanged. Even prices were raised 33 times from December 1999 to June 2002, when Pakistan was getting free-of-cost petrol," he recalled.
Raja Ashraf said it was each and every citizen's issue that when the prices in the international market go up, these are reviewed upward and when come down, the masses are denied any relief.
The rulers, Haideri said, keep on claiming the Parliament was supreme, but they take decisions bypassing the forum. "The House should decide the issue," he said.
Jadoon said the government was ready for an in-house debate and would hide nothing from the elected representatives or the masses.
He said that an increase in the world market had its impact on local rates of petroleum products. However, he preferred not to say anything on the premier's statement.
The minister also did not drop any hint about giving the task of POL price fixation to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), as an assurance on this count was given by Minister of State for Petroleum Mir Naseer Mengal in the previous Senate session.
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