The country's opposition political parties and renowned economists on Monday held three federal ministries - Finance, Petroleum & Natural Resources and Water & Power -responsible for the worst fuel crisis in the country. The week-long countrywide fuel crisis has forced people to stand in long queues at petrol stations while the ministries concerned are blaming each other for the crisis.
Former Finance Minister Dr Salman Shah said that the Prime Minister, Finance Ministry and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources are responsible for the shortage of petrol in the country. He said that the decrease in oil prices in international market, it becomes the responsibility of the federal government to monitor and manage supply and demand of fuel in the country.
"Besides the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the Prime Minister is equally responsible for the crisis," he maintained. Salman Shah said that the government should de-regularise the petroleum sector like the telecom sector, and this would create an atmosphere of competition among the companies such as in telecomm sector. "The energy system of the country is being controlled from Islamabad and the crisis of petroleum reflects flawed management," he added.
Renowned economist Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, while talking to Business Recorder said that the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Rsources Water and Power and Finance are responsible for the current fuel crisis in the country, adding the three have miserably failed to fulfil their respective responsibilities. He said that it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Water and Power to monitor the circular debt and its resurfacing to the same level as in June 2013, when it was retired, is indicative of the incompetence of the ministry.
He aid that the Finance Ministry is responsible for allocating resources to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for the import of oil and other POL products. However, the Ministry did not release adequate funds - in local and foreign currency - to enable the PSO to open the letters of credit for the import of required quantity of fuel.
He said that the Finance Ministry was more concerned about meeting the target of budget deficit by the end of December than in ensuring that petrol shortages do not disrupt the life of the people. "Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has achieved both the targets by shutting down the country and businesses. This is how the rulers are running the country...Long live the present regime and good luck to poor Pakistanis," he remarked.
Opposition political parties also strongly criticised the PML-N government, saying the blame game between the ministries concerned indicates that the crisis was created by the government itself. Taking notice of the crisis, Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) on Monday submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly Secretariat against the shortage of petrol in the country. The motion was jointly submitted by party lawmakers including Naveed Qamar, Nafisa Shah, Shazia Mari, Azra Fazal and Abdul Sattar Bachani.
In the motion, the PPP noted that the ministries of Petroleum & Natural Resources, the Finance and the Water & Power are responsible for the present state of affairs and all three ministers should take responsibility and give their statements in the house.
"We would like to draw the attention of the government to an urgent public matter of the acute shortage of petrol in the country, compounded by electricity and gas load shedding which has added to the miseries of the people especially in the province of Punjab," the MNAs stated in the motion.
The motion further stated that the reports that the public sector distribution company the PSO has defaulted on payments are alarming and demonstrates total inefficiency, incompetence and callousness of the present government. The reports that the PIA, Railways, IPPs have not paid their dues to the PSO reflects the failure of the government generally, it added.
"We demand answers and explanations especially as the international fuel prices have fallen below $50 a barrel and this provided an excellent opportunity to the government to fix the energy crisis facing the country," the MNAs demanded. The motion added that the sacking four officials and trading blame between one ministry to the other shows that this is a government created problem and it must inform the parliament why and how the problem occurred, and why has the government not been able to address it.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) summoned its core committee to discuss the ongoing petrol crisis. Party MNA Asad Omar, talking to the media, strongly criticised the PML-N government for incompetence in dealing with the crisis, adding "a prime minister with a fake mandate can not resolve national issues and hence is a threat to Pakistan". Awami National Party (ANP) central secretary-information Senator Zahid Khan said that it was sheer negligence of the government, adding that his party is going to submit an adjournment motion in the Upper House of the Parliament to discuss the matter.
"It's an issue of urgent public importance and the government needs to take immediate measures to end the crisis," he said, adding that his party believes that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was the reason for the crisis as he always uses delaying tactics to release money to other ministries and departments.
"Had the Finance Ministry ensured timely release of the outstanding amount to the PSO (Pakistan State Oil), the country would not have faced the fuel crisis," he lamented, adding it is sheer incompetence on the part of the people sitting at the helm of affairs. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Colonel Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (Retd) also submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat to discuss the acute shortage of petrol - a matter of utmost national importance.
"The public is facing extreme hardship and trouble and has been unable to perform their day to day normal functions due to complete absence of petrol in most of the petrol pumps. Where it is available exorbitant black market rates are being charged and the general public is being fleeced by unscrupulous dealers," the Senator added. "Whether this petrol crisis is due to mismanagement, lack of governance, gross inefficiency or even God forbid due to corruption, as it is being rumoured that some unscrupulous people at the helm of affairs have manipulated the whole crisis just to make quick billions, it must be resolved," he said, adding that petrol is available at Rs 200 - 300 per litre in the black market. He added that there is an urgent need to focus on managing the crisis and to ensure such lapses do not occur again.
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