People welcome big relief in POL prices, ask for cut in prices of daily-use items

ISLAMABAD (APP) - People from different walks of life on Monday welcomed the government’s decision to substantially reduce petroleum prices, viewing it as a much-needed relief to counter the adverse effects of high inflation on their daily routines.

In the past, they said whenever petroleum prices increased it resulted in a surge in the prices of essential commodities, public transportation fares, and shipping costs, negatively impacting the common man.

Now, with the government’s ample reduction of Rs40 per liter in petrol prices and Rs15 in high-speed diesel, people expect this to have a trickle-down effect on the prices of everyday items, goods transport, and public transportation fares.

Khurram Shahzad, a government employee who commutes daily from Qasim Market Rawalpindi to Islamabad, expressed his concern that public transporters had not lowered their fares despite a significant reduction in petroleum prices. They had increased fares by almost 300 percent over the past six months, which he said should be revised and brought down. He urged the Regional Transport Authority to revise and regulate the public transport fares to align them with the reduced petroleum prices.

He also called for the display of revised fare charts in public transport vehicles to provide maximum relief to the common commuters between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The business community also commended the government’s decision to reduce petroleum prices, considering it a positive step in combating inflation and providing much-needed relief to the common man throughout the country.

They attributed the positive indicators to the government’s zero-tolerance policy against the illicit trade and smuggling of essential commodities and the dollar mafia. These measures led to the strengthening of the local currency against the dollar, which also facilitated local trade and businesses.

Businessmen also praised the government for reducing petroleum product prices, expecting this move to provide relief to the common man in the country. The decision, he hoped would bring down logistic costs and the prices of everyday items would also decrease as expected by the general public. For the current fortnight, the government has revised petroleum prices to provide much-awaited relief to the common man, reducing the per liter price of Motor Spirit Oil (Petrol) by Rs 40 and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs 15.