Daily Times

KARACHI: The Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday demanded reduction in petroleum products (POL) prices by Rs 20 per litre, considering the lowest oil prices prevailing in the international market.

LCCI President Maqsood Ismail said that international oil prices are constantly falling for the past few years and the price of POL products per barrel went down below $31, but the Pakistan government remained reluctant to provide price relief to the consumers with the same ratio.

It was sheer injustice with the people of the country that they were not given any price differential in any utility, he said, adding that as per the government’s own price mechanism, there should be immediate reduction in prices of not only POL products but electricity, transport fares, including trains and airlines. Ismail said the present government, following the practice of the previous regimes, is not practicing the price mechanism and to the woes of people of Pakistan, PML-N government is depriving their fundamental rights for not providing the price cushion.

He said the government, as per its claim of being business and investment-friendly, should reduce the POL prices honestly, as the people of Pakistan deserved it. “The masses, in general, and trade and industry, in particular, need some sigh of relief at this juncture when everyone remained under the heavy burden of unaffordable prices of utilities and imposition of various additional taxes and levies,” he added.

He lamented the increase in general sales tax (GST) on fuel, which he declared unjustified. He warned that the industries were closing down in the country due to unbearable cost of production and the energy crisis. He said that actual price cut should be the Rs 40 per litre as per the rate of $31 per barrel in the international market.