Pakistan's opposition walks out of National Assembly over oil price hike

[News_Editor]

Pakistan's opposition walks out of National Assembly over oil price hike

2011-03-01 22:41:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) -- Three main opposition parties on Tuesday walked out of Pakistan's National Assembly over the current hike in petroleum prices, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The legislators belonging to opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), argued that the move would further aggravate the already soared prices in the country.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Monday announced an increase to all petroleum products by 9.9 percent, arguing that the move is necessary because of instability in North Africa and the Middle East.

The increment was the first one registered in the last two months. The Pakistani government, led by President Asif Ali Zardari, kept the price of petroleum products unchanged due to the pressure from all political parties.

MQM's Haider Abbas Rizvi said his party, which in the past got the government reverse its decision on petroleum price-hike, did not welcome the increase, which would directly put burden on poor and middle classes.

PML-N's Chief Whip Aftab Sheikh urged the government to seriously re-consider the recent spike in petroleum prices, while PML-Q's Sheikh Waqas Akram endorsed the views of the other parties and asked the government not to opt for such ventures.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Transport Alliance announced a strike for Wednesday against the recent hike in petroleum prices.

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