President of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Salman Aslam has demanded to immediately withdraw the increase in prices of petroleum products by Rs 30 per liter and electricity by Rs 7.90 per unit. He said that the government dropped petrol bombs on the people for the second time in a week and for the second time increased the price by Rs. 30 per liter which will increase the production cost to a dangerous level.
President KATI said that OGRA had announced on May 31 that prices would be maintained the for next 15 days which was withdrawn on the second day. He said that the government did not miss any opportunity to increase inflation on the people, the government on the same day increased the price of petrol by Rs. 30 while the unit price of electricity was increased by Rs. 7.90 per unit which is beyond the purchasing power of a common man. On the other hand, Moody’s also issued a negative rating to Pakistan and sounded the alarm of economic crisis and bankruptcy.
President KATI said that the present government was failing to provide relief to the people in the midst of severe economic crisis and was increasing the problems of the common man instead of reducing them. He said that foreign exchange reserves have also reached a three-year low. In such a scenario, the government is failing to formulate a clear policy.
Salman Aslam said that in view of the current situation, economic policy needs to be formulated so that the poor could not face economic difficulties in this era of inflation.
President KATI said that economic instability has put investment at risk while it has become impossible to run industries with the highest cost of production ever.
President KATI said that it is feared that the unemployment rate in the country will also increase rapidly. The government should immediately take a decision in consultation with the stakeholders to deal with the financial crisis facing the country and announce immediate relief for the low-income group. He said that investment protection and bailout packages for industries should be provided.
