Shehbaz demands reduction in fuel prices in line with international decline

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that the impact of rising inflation this year, both on the national economy and the poor, remained destructive.

Read more: ‘Step down and give relief to people,’ Shehbaz Sharif tells PM Imran Khan

Shehbaz claimed that “meaningless lip-service” by the PTI government would not do any good when inflation had reached a 13-year high, while the people were being obliterated by skyrocketing inflation and unemployment.

The 11.5 per cent monthly increase in inflation happened due to PTI’s wrong economic policies, he said.

Shehbaz claimed that people were committing suicide due to inflation, unemployment and lack of livelihood, while the disconnected [PTI] rulers, living in a utopian world, were calmly asking them not to panic.

“The current account deficits continue to rise, exceeding $5.1 billion. Is this the austerity Imran advocates? The parliament and the National Economic Council had drawn a red line at $2.3 billion,” he maintained.

The PML-N leader continued that poor Pakistanis could not afford even a can of ghee, and were dying from starvation and inability to pay for medicines.

“Tomatoes, cooking oil, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, milk, sugar, medicines, construction materials, everything has become too expensive to afford. Are these the good days PTI had promised the nation?” he questioned.

“The decrease in oil prices,” he said, “was a lollypop for the people as they no longer trust the government that dropped the fuel inflation bomb on them in the dark of the night.”

Shehbaz warned the nation that the government was going to increase the petroleum levy by Rs4 every month under IMF conditions.

“The government must decrease the price of petrol following the fall in prices in the international market instead of this window-dressing,” demanded the PML-N president.

The former Punjab chief minister also said a government that deceived the nation in the name of budget and accepted IMF conditions, hostile to the people and the national interest was “unreliable”.

“The only way to give relief to the people from these mini-budgets and inflation is to get rid of the Imran Niazi government because the nation can no longer tolerate this tyrant gang.”

Read more: Shehbaz Sharif calls Rs2.52 hike in electricity tariff a ‘heartless’ move

Shehbaz claimed that the ‘Health Insaaf Cards’ failed to provide medicine and treatment facilities to the people. Complaints of the people regarding this hoax were increasing, but the government had no answer.

The PML-N president called the satisfaction of the PTI government over tax collections amid a sharp rise in imports “self-deception”.