Different political parties, traders and transporters have criticised the government for the recent increase in petroleum products' prices and demanded immediate withdrawal of the decision. The MQM Co-ordination Committee expressed its grave concern over increase in the petroleum products' prices.
It said that people were being compelled to bear sharp surge in prices of other essential items after the raise in prices of CNG, LPG and petroleum products. The MQM called upon President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to withdraw the price hike to lessen peoples' sufferings.
Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Sindh and former MNA Maulana Asadullah Bhutto while condemning the hike in petroleum products' prices, termed it a 'drone attack' on the masses. He said the rulers were hell bent to snatch the right to live from the poor, and added that the new petroleum prices would result in sharp increase in prices of essential commodities.
Bhutto said the policies of rulers have caused enormous problems for the poor. He urged the government to immediately withdraw the increase in petroleum products' price.
Traders of Karachi have rejected the massive hike in the prices of petroleum products and threatened severe protest if the hike was not withdrawn within three days.
According to the Karachi All Traders' Ittehad, the first phase of the movement would be civil disobedience. Karachi Transport Action Committee has also condemned the latest increase in prices of petroleum products and CNG and demanded of the government to withdraw the decisions forthwith.
In a joint statement on Sunday President of the committee Muhammad Ashraf Banglori, Choudhry Mazhar Hussain, Tanzeem Khan and Nazir Banglori said that oil prices in international market had not increased as much as the government had increased it in the country. They said there was no reason to raise prices of CNG as it was produced in the country with a very low production cost.