'Increase in gas prices was inevitable'

Foreign and Petroleum Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that the increase in gas prices was inevitable, and it was not meant to reduce pressure on the economy. He was addressing the oath taking ceremony of OGDC labour union.
The minister said that the government was fully aware of the difficulties of the people due to rising prices of gas and other petroleum products, but it could not continue with the policy of deceiving the masses on such issues. He said that the Shaukat Aziz government, instead of facing the challenges in time, preferred ad hocism by not passing on the impact of high energy prices to the consumers.
He said that the PPP-led coalition government was facing many challenges like high oil prices but instead of leaving the hard job for another time it would face the crisis up front. He said that relief to the poor was a basic policy of the government with workable solutions.