ISLAMABAD: The opposition, on Thursday, came down hard on the government for its ‘incompetence’ in ensuring smooth supply of petrol as people – all over the country – had to face great hardships due to countrywide closure of petrol pumps on the call given by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA).
Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz said that the government’s apathy and incompetence had forced the people to wait in long queues to get wheat, sugar, and petrol.
Terming it the height of injustice, she said that despite all the chaos, the government has been inconsiderate towards the masses.
She claimed that she had never witnessed Prime Minister Imran Khan being worried over common man’s problems.
Sharing a video on Twitter in which a man could be seen criticising the government as he stood outside a petrol pump in Islamabad – along with several people waiting to get their tanks filled – she said: “This is the humiliation that Imran Khan has earned for a few days in power.”
In another tweet, she shared images of long queues outside petrol pumps in Islamabad, Lahore, and Gujranwala, and said: “These are not just long queues; these images depict people’s misery, pain, and helplessness.”
“Imran Khan, people who impose him [on the country], and ministers” should also stand in such long queues so they could realise the misery of the masses,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, said the entire nation was worried as the government had shown its incompetence in dealing with the petroleum dealers.
“Most of the petrol pumps are closed in the country, while several long queues could be seen [...] businesses affairs are affected, which is the government’s failure,” he added.
Bilawal said that PM Khan ruined the lives of people after his government had affected every aspect of life, adding the PTI-led government turns solvable issues into a crisis through its incompetence.
He noted that the next increase in the price of petrol would be disastrous for the masses, as he said that the rise in the rates of electricity, expensive petrol, and gas were the “gifts of the PTI-IMF deal”.
“From day one we had said that the PTI’s budget was a failure [...] and the failure of the budget has proved that Imran Khan’s government is incompetent,” he added.
Long queues, brawls, and traffic jams were witnessed at petrol pump stations across Pakistan, Thursday morning as the strike announced by petroleum dealers triggered panic buying.
The PPDA had announced they would go on a strike from November 25 till an indefinite period to demand an increase in the margin on the sale of petroleum products.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021