Allies, opposition slam government over Rs55 fuel price hike

2026-03-08 - 03:14

• PPP, MQM, PTI, JUI-F and JI criticise move days before Eid • Leaders warn of new wave of inflation, demand relief measures LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday came under fire not only from the opposition parties but also from its own allies over its move to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre. The PPP, the ruling PML-N’s ally, chided Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the increase in the prices of petroleum products, saying the party would take up the matter in parliament. “I wonder who gave anti-people advice to the prime minister to increase the price of petroleum products by Rs55 per litre during Ramazan and before Eid,” former premier and PPP Central Punjab President Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said in a statement. He said the government should have given the people an alternative relief programme before increasing the prices. It would have been better if parliament had been taken into confidence regarding regional tensions and the increase in the price of petrol. “The increase in prices will bring a new storm of inflation. The government should immediately establish a governance monitoring cell,” he said. Another government ally, the MQM-P, also demanded an immediate review of the decision. In a statement, MQM-P lawmakers said that rising fuel prices would further accelerate inflation and make it increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens to manage their household expenses. Opp parties slam move Meanwhile, the opposition PTI’s political committee also held a meeting on the current situation and released a statement strongly condemning the “cruel” price increases and terming them an “inflation bomb” on the public. Separately, in a joint statement, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram and Kissan Wing spokesperson Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich demanded an immediate reversal of the price hike, claiming that the government had no justification for increasing prices on low-cost old stock. They alleged that the current regime had stripped citizens of their basic right to survival. Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who is also the vice chairman of the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and the chief of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), termed the decision the “worst form of governance and a grave anti-people move”. He cautioned that if the Middle East conflict was prolonged, its effects could also have serious impacts on food security. Similarly, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri termed the “immense hike in petrol prices unacceptable” and asked the government to reconsider the decision. “The poor people of Pakistan cannot tolerate the immense hike in fuel prices,” he said, adding that countries where the war was ongoing had not increased petrol prices to this extent. Likewise, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rahman urged the government to reduce its own expenditures instead of placing an additional financial burden on the public. He said the government was charging around Rs120 per litre in the form of levy and other taxes from ordinary citizens, describing it as an unfair burden on the public at a time when inflation has already severely affected household budgets. In a statement, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) Information Secretary Sardar Abdul Rahim questioned the rationale behind the Rs55-per-litre hike, asking if it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “The government’s decision to increase petrol prices during the holy month of Ramazan is extremely regrettable and an anti-people move,” he said. Kalbe Ali in Islamabad and Imran Ayub in Karachi also contributed to this report Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2026