Agri Forum Pakistan's Chairman Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal has urged the government to import diesel from India which is cheaper than Pakistan instead of importing vegetables, agricultural commodities, meat and fruits. In a statement issued here on Thursday, he said diesel, being sold in Pakistan at Rs 112 per litre, was available in India at Rs 43, which was equivalent to Pak rupees 89 per litre.
He said that around 10 billion litres were being used in the country so Pakistanis were paying Rs 230 billion more under the head of use of diesel as compared to Indians. Ibrahim Mughal said that in the agricultural sector around four billion litres were being used for one million tube wells and 900,000 tractors, so Pakistani peasants were paying Rs 100 billion more as compared to Indian farmers under this head. That was why input cost was being swiftly increased in Pakistan for agriculture, industries and economics, he added.
He said the lobby working to pave way for importing fruits, vegetables and other agricultural commodities should press the government for importing cheaper diesel to reduce the fiscal burden of Rs 230 billion on the nation. However, he claimed that Indians would never be ready to provide cheaper diesel to Pakistanis and pro-Indian lobby should take it as an eye opener and never fall in to the trap of Indians being laid in the name of free trade, he concluded.