The Pakistan Industrial and Traders associations Front (PIAF) on Tuesday strongly condemned the increase in petroleum prices and termed it an anti-trade, anti-industry and anti-people decision. PIAF Chairman Irfan Qaiser Shaikh while talking to Business Recorder here on Tuesday said that there were other avenues through which the government could generate money, instead of increasing prices of petroleum against the will of the masses.
He urged the government to review its decision in the larger interests of the country in general and for the sake of economy in particular. He said that the increase in oil prices would not only leave negative impact on the business activity by pushing input cost up but would also put the commoners under trouble who are already facing sever economic pressure due to inflation.
The PIAF Chairman said that cut in non-development expenditures could help the government but it seems that some elements in the government want to defame it through unpopular decisions. He said that an extra burden on the people, trade and industry of the country would prove a big blow. He said that inflation came down to 8.9 percent but after increase in petroleum prices, it would again go up to double digit.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that both the trade and industry of the country were already facing multiple challenges and were fighting for their survival in the wake of acute shortage of electricity and the recent increase would add to their miseries and urged the Prime Minister to take notice of the situation and withdraw seven percent increase in petroleum prices.
Meanwhile, the office bearers of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Tuesday also criticised the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for increasing oil prices and urged the government to immediately withdraw increase in the prices of petroleum products as it would cause irreparable damage to the government.
The LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry and other office bearers were of the view that the recent increase of seven percent in the prices of petroleum products would badly hit both the Industrial and Agriculture sectors, besides jacking up the rate of inflation in the country. Chaudhary said that the entire industrial sector was already facing multiple internal and external challenges and the recent increase would further aggravate the economic situation. Pakistan agriculture sector is engine of growth.
The increase in petroleum prices would increase the input cost of agriculture production as high-speed diesel is being used in tractors, tub-wells, harvesters, thrashers and other agriculture machinery. The cost of thermal generation by private sector to go up, he said and added that not only the transportation cost of goods would multiply but fares of public transport would also increase manifold.
The government is producing huge amount of electricity through thermal means and after increase in the petroleum prices, the electricity tariff would touch new highs, he added and maintained that because of this sharp rise, the inflation would gain enter into double digits from existing 8.9 per cent. He said that the LCCI has been asking the government departments concerned to take measures for the promotion of alternate fuels as trade deficit was fast widening due to heavy imports under the head of petroleum products.
He added that the timeline for the increase in the prices of petroleum products was also raising questions because at a time when the whole industry was suffering from energy crisis and high cost of doing business, the raise in POL prices is bound to give a further blow to the industry. "It seems that it is an attempt to create troubles for the government," he said.