PPP submits resolution in Punjab Assembly against gas price hike

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly against the hefty hike in the gas prices, demanding the federal government to rescind its decision.

Filed by Syed Hassan Murtaza, a party representative who won from Chiniot (PP-95 constituency), the resolution condemned the upward revision of 46 percent in the gas rates and noted that inflation, which is already crushing the people of Pakistan, has let stoves in numerous houses go cold.

On the other hand, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), explained that the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) registered a record profit last year. In this regard, he said, it was unfathomable as to why a 46 percent price hike would be approved, especially considering that the fuel costs have not risen either.

The increased gas prices will only cause a detrimental impact on the living standards of a common man and hit the country's exports, he said.

With regard to the upward bump in the power tariff, Ismail said the revision — Rs2 for households and Rs3 for the industrial consumers — will also lower exports and increase inflation, and that the incumbent leadership was making a mistake.