Fleecing masses for energy cost

ISLAMABAD - PPP-led fragile coalition government, ever since it took over after the February 18 elections, has been overloading the consumers of petroleum products’ skyrocketing prices in a blindfold manner following the prescription of international financial institutions.

Latest increase of over 14 per cent in the prices of the petroleum products last week was the highest ever hike in the price of oil and gas sector in the history of the country. It was still not the end of the story. The government in the light of various reports and statements has already been trying to indicate that it had to pay billions of rupees to the oil marketing companies as differential of the international and the domestic prices of the petroleum products. According to the reports, the government has still to pay Rs 72 billion to the Oil Marketing Companies under the head of the differential or as the cost of capping the prices against the international oil’s hike. That clearly indicates the government’s intentions to further increase the prices of the petroleum products.