The opposition in Senate on Wednesday staged a walkout against denying "substantial relief to the masses after over 33 percent fall" in petroleum products prices in the international market, "despite making a commitment to the nation".
Rukhsana Zuberi said that the rulers had planned to cut prices significantly close to election which, she alleged, would be tantamount to pre-poll rigging.
The Senate resumed business with a delay of half an hour, and had an extended question hour again. The House also unanimously passed the bill for the establishment of the National Institute of Oceanography, which would help develop 240,000 square kilometre exclusive economic zone.
The bill, the first piece of legislation during the current session, aims at encouraging substantial investment in ocean research to reap optimum benefit of the ECZ.
After opposition senators' walkout, leader of the House, Wasim Sajjad, also led treasury senators' rare walkout, protesting against opposition's agitation, calling it "totally unjustified".
The government also laid in the House the quarterly report of Central Board of Revenue for 2006-07, besides the Khushali Bank (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006, The Patents (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006 and the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (Reorganisation and Conversion) Ordinance 2006.
Opposition senators refused to listen to the State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Naseer Mengal's explanation on not bringing down prices in proportion to fall in the world market, and stormed out of the House. They slammed the government for not allowing a debate on POL prices issue under an adjournment motion.
Rukhsana, who has been pioneering the POL issue in the House, made an impressive presentation in support of the motion with facts and figures and also referring to petrol and diesel prices in India.
She contended that the government was not burdening the petroleum firms and marketing companies, as was the case in India. They were pocketing huge profits, instead, she said.
She said that there must have been a big relief in diesel prices, as its consumption was 10 billion litres per year, whereas, petrol consumption was a meagre 1.5 billion. She questioned the logic behind Rs 4 per litre cut in petrol and Re. 1 in diesel prices.
Referring to a recent statement by the State Bank of Pakistan, she warned that if with the fall in the POL price benefit was not transferred to the masses, inflation was poised to increase in the time to come.
Other mover of the motion, Khurshid Ahmed, said that a definition of a government was that it would give relief to the common man and impose taxes on the elite and the rich, but here the situation was topsy-turvy.
"The rulers have developed what is called the elitist economy, wherein the common has burdened with more and more taxes, and the rich is provided so many ways for tax evasion. Capital gain tax is charged in India for the last 20 years, whereas, the estate and stock exchange players are completely spared in the country," he argued.
He said that there had been 38 percent reduction in POL rates in the international market, but the government, despite its commitment in the Parliament, was not prepared to adjust prices downward.
"Where a substantial reduction was needed, a paltry Re. 1 cut has been announced, which will not be of any relief to agriculture and transport sectors," he said.
Since 1999, he said, the number of people earning Rs 10,000 or less had shrunk, whereas assets of those having Rs 10 million or more had increased manifold. As a result, in the globalisation, Pakistan's share of production was coming drastically down.
Safdar Abbasi recalled that the government, even Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, had assured the nation that prices would be reviewed downward, keeping in view their fall in the international market, when these were being increased after every fortnight, but this assurance has not been realised.
The House will now meet again on Thursday afternoon to discuss matters pertaining to PIA, for which State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kamil Ali Agha moved an adjournment motion.
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