Opposition leaders slam government over massive petrol price hike

2026-03-07 - 11:23

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders have strongly criticized the federal government over the massive increase in petroleum prices, warning that the move will further increase poverty and inflation in the country. The government of Pakistan has announced a significant increase in petrol prices, citing rising global oil costs linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East. At a press conference in Islamabad, federal ministers announced an increase of Rs. 55 per litre in the prices of petrol and diesel. Under the new rates, petrol will cost Rs. 321.17 per litre, while diesel will rise from Rs. 275.70 to Rs. 335.86 per litre. In a statement on X, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, rejected the increase in petroleum product prices and termed the decision unacceptable. He said that instead of reducing levies and taxes on petroleum products, the government had placed the entire burden on the public. He further argued that when global oil prices fell to a five-year low in recent months, the government increased the petroleum levy instead of providing relief to citizens. Now that prices are fluctuating again, the burden is once again being shifted to the people, he added. Meanwhile, PTI Senator Aon Abbas Buppi compared Pakistan’s response with other countries in the region. He noted that despite tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, countries such as India, China, and Japan did not immediately raise petrol prices. حکومت پیٹرول کی قیمتیں بڑھانے کے بجائے اپنی عیاشیوں اور غیر ترقیاتی اخراجات میں کمی کرے تاکہ پہلے ہی مہنگائی کے بوجھ تلے دبے عوام کو کچھ ریلیف مل سکے۔ — Siraj ul Haq (@SirajOfficial) March 6, 2026 He pointed out that the government itself had stated that Pakistan possesses at least a month’s stock of petroleum purchased at previous rates. “Then what was the compulsion to increase prices so quickly?” he questioned. Even some government allies have expressed concerns over the increase. Nadeem Afzal Chan, Central Secretary Information of the Pakistan Peoples Party, said that every crisis—whether war or the coronavirus pandemic—forces ordinary citizens to make sacrifices. He said that rising petrol prices make everything expensive, including medicines and food, and questioned what sacrifices the country’s elite had made in the current situation. جنگ ھو ،کرونا ھو۔ عوام تو قربانیاں دیتی ھے۔ پٹرول ۔دوائ اور اناج مہنگا ھونے کی صورت میں۔ اشرافیہ نے کس چیز کی قربانی دی موجودہ حالات میں۔ ؟؟ کوی مراعات وغیرہ میں کمی ھوی ھو ؟؟ — Nadeem Afzal Chan (@NadeemAfzalChan) March 6, 2026 Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry also criticized the move, claiming that the government is already charging around Rs100 per litre in taxes on petroleum products. He said that instead of reducing taxes to protect citizens from rising global oil prices, the government had increased petrol prices excessively, a move that would severely affect the middle class. آبنائے ہرمز کی صورتحال کے باوجود بھارت، چین اور جاپان جیسے ممالک نے فوری طور پر پٹرول کی قیمتیں نہیں بڑھائیں۔ پاکستان میں خود حکومت کہہ رہی ہے کہ کم از کم ایک ماہ کا سٹاک موجود ہے، جو پرانی قیمتوں پر خریدا گیا۔ پھر اتنی جلدی قیمتیں بڑھانے کی کیا مجبوری تھی؟ — Senator Aon Abbas Buppi (@AonAbbasPTI) March 6, 2026 Journalist Syed Imran Shafqat described the increase as “oppression,” rejecting the government’s argument that the decision was purely due to global conditions. He argued that Pakistan has not yet purchased petroleum at the new international rates. Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj ul Haq also urged the government to reduce its own luxuries and cut non-development expenditures instead of increasing petrol prices, so that citizens already burdened by inflation could receive some relief.