Scuffle between the political parties for getting power is continued in the country over the cost of the comfort of people. Politicians are pointing fingers at each other. The blame game for ruining the country is underway. No one is ready to accept the responsibility of the skyrocketing inflation being faced by the common people of the state. Instead, every political party is busy in blaming the other for inflation. But, some facts speak lauder and tells the story that who is behind the no relief mantra in Pakistan.
In a current move, the government of Pakistan announced that it has decided not to change the oil prices for not 15 days. The representatives announced this while showing that the government is doing something great for the nation by not increasing the prices. But, the reality unfolded later on that the government did not give any relief through this act indeed. Instead, the government decided to maintain the prices of petrol and diesel despite the fact that the prices have come down in the international market. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday announced that the government was keeping prices of petrol and diesel unchanged effective from December 1, 2022. The diesel price was supposed to be reduced by Rs11.95 per litre but the government’s decision deprived consumers of a major relief. But the price was left unchanged in a bid to raise the petroleum levy rate to collect more revenue from the oil consumers. So the government announced no relief for the masses who were expecting and even deserving for the relief.
The current government of 14 political parties came in power with slogan of relief for people. They were of the view that the former Prime Minister Imran Khan had been failed in providing relief to the masses, therefore it is inevitable for sending him home. They succeeded in ousting the sitting PM and came in power. But, instead of providing relief to the masses the government dropped new bombs over the shoulders of people. Instead of providing relief in already skyrocketed prices, the government this time has decided to provide no relief to people despite the fact that the prices of oil have come down in international market.
Government is trying to show that it has resolved the issues of economy. For this purpose, the government has been doing the artificial things in all the sectors. Oil industry has recently protested against keeping petroleum prices artificially stable by reducing freight charges, margins and adjusting the exchange rate. It claimed that it had faced a loss of over Rs7 billion due to the government’s move to keep oil prices low. The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) said that prices of motor fuels had been left unchanged for the second fortnight of November 2022 despite the fact that the rates should have gone up based on the government’s approved pricing formula. Instead of passing on the increase or absorbing the impact of the increase by reducing the petroleum levy, the price components were unjustly reduced which included freight margins, exchange loss adjustment and denial to pass on increased margins of oil marketing companies (OMCs). The oil industry body said that the inland freight equalisation margin (IFEM) was reduced by Rs3.21 and Rs2.72 per litre on motor spirit and high-speed diesel respectively.
Throughout the tenure of current government, the masses did not get a single penny for relief. Instead of streamlining the issues of the economy of the country, the government is trying to manage things through artificial engineering. Showing good stats through artificial means is not the solution. The government should provide relief to masses in the real sense. If the oil prices in international market have come down then the government should provide this relief to people.
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