Senator criticises government for increase in gas tariffs

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, Senator Mohsin Aziz has warned that the government was planning to further increase the prices of gas to oblige its favourites, what, he termed the step would prove detrimental for local job-intensive industry, especially export-oriented industry of the country.
In a press statement issued here, in which he said the government is working out plan to sell-out industry export and employment on dictate of IMF against the national interest. He said gas-tariff recent increase clubbed with GIDC, had triggered mass unemployment and closure of industries in the country, as import oriented or local consumption industry, particularly export-oriented couldn't bear the brunt of high cost of doing business in the country, as compared to the region.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said the global petroleum commodities prices are down to the lowest in the last decade. Due to competition, he said the major exporting countries are in continuous deliberation how to keep their products competitive. Whereas, he added in Pakistan strange phenomena of reducing the budget deficit through prices increase of industrial input is deplorable.
PTI leader said the gas prices are already highest in the region, which needed a downward revision, instead, he said the Ministry of Petroleum (MoP) is planning to further increase it in the month of January 2016, what he termed as a conspiracy against the industry of the country. He, essentially, said the gas is indigenous resource of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said the policy to rapidly increase the prices of gas, bringing it at par with other fuel, like furnace oil, is completely unjust for gas producing provinces, and converting their advantage of indigenous natural resources into disadvantage. He warned that any further increase in gas rates would be to deprive the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a forefront province to combat terrorism of its constitutional right and as such is against the spirit of united and strong federation.