ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the Senate on Tuesday that oil would neither be cheap nor free for Pakistan, as oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
He was responding to the speech of JUI-F Member Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman in the House.
Crude price is higher today than on February 28, said the minister. He said Pakistani ships were let through the strait due to good relations with the neighboring country, but due to the passage of ships through the strait, oil could not be provided free of charge or cheap.
“Oil is available in the country today due to the passage of ships,” he added.
Tarar said diesel was the most expensive in the world, but at present no levy was being charged on it in Pakistan.
“A corruption case may be filed against Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet in an open court. It is your (opposition) democratic right to protest, but at present the world is looking at Pakistan. We have cut the federal government’s budget by 50 percent. The cabinet members have stopped using official vehicles, and the fuel expenditure of all government offices has been reduced by 50 percent,” he pointed out.
Tarar said the world’s major economies had sunk, but Pakistan’s situation was slightly better than many countries. He appealed to traders to close the markets early to save energy.
Earlier, JUI-F Senator Maulana Atta asked if the Pakistani ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz had reached home and unloaded the oil. He said the JUI-F will protest across the country on Friday.
“I tell my friends of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that leaders are not got released in this way. They cannot be free in the way you sit outside the Adiala Jail. On Friday, JUI-Fazl will tell how a protest is staged. Our workers are ready to shed their blood for every inch of this country,” he remarked.
Atta reiterated that his party will protest against inflation on Friday.
Leader of Opposition Allama Raja Nasir Abbas urged the global powers to play role in reducing tensions in the Gulf, as already inflation had multiplied people’s difficulties.
