MCCI condemns hike in POL prices

Friday July 03, 2009

MULTAN: Condemning the hike in petroleum products, the business community said that the decision to increase POL prices would further raise the prices of essential commodities and dampen business activities in the country. President of the Multan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Anis Ahmed Sheikh, in a press statement issued here on Thursday, strongly criticised the government's decision of increasing POL prices.

He said that around 70 per cent of the electricity in the country was generated through thermal sources and the hike would significantly push up power prices. He also said that this state of affairs was not good for the country's economy and would further increase prices of all items, making life for the common man more miserable.

He lamented that whenever POL prices went up in the international market, the government never lost time increasing prices in the domestic market. But when the prices came down, the required relief was not passed on to the masses. He called upon the government to break out of the clutches of donor agencies and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and make independent decisions in the larger national interest, otherwise, people would lose trust in democracy.

President MCCI, said that raising POL prices, particularly at a time when trade and industry was passing through a difficult phase, was an unwise decision. He said that as a result of the hike, consumers would have to face extremely high prices of commodities, which would further render Pakistani products uncompetitive in the local, as well as international market.


(BRecorder)