KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi holds a meeting with TTAP at the home of National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Achakzai. PHOTO: TTAP
ISLAMABAD:
The Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), a major opposition alliance, announced plans on Sunday to launch a protest campaign against the latest increase in oil prices and said it was seeking support from other political parties for a joint movement.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai said the party was in touch with allied political groups, including the PTI, to finalize a coordinated response.
“We and the PTI are on the same page on this issue. However, consultations are underway with other parties which are part of the alliance. After bringing them on board, we will finalize an action plan,” he said.
He added that a parliamentary meeting of the alliance had been convened on Monday, where the issue would be discussed in detail.
The party also plans to reach out to other opposition parties that are not part of the alliance, including JUIF led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to join the protest movement.
In a separate statement issued earlier today, TTAP strongly condemned the increase in oil prices, saying that despite a decline in global oil prices over the past week, the government had increased fuel rates mainly through an increase in oil tax, which it said was not linked to international oil trends.
The party claimed that gasoline prices in Pakistan had increased by 61 percent since tensions between Iran and the United States, compared to 38 percent in Sri Lanka and 16 percent in Bangladesh, while remaining unchanged in India, calling it “evidence of government failure.”
He said rising fuel prices had increased transport and food costs and pushed inflation into double digits, warning that such policies were worsening economic hardship and unemployment.
TTAP said it would announce protest demonstrations in the coming days against what it calls “anti-people policies.”
Fuel prices in Pakistan have shown a sustained upward trend since late February amid heightened regional tensions and repeated adjustments to oil taxes, with successive increases contributing to rising transport and raw material costs.
The announcement of the protest came shortly after the government raised petrol prices by Rs 14.92 per liter to Rs 414.78, a move that further intensified political criticism over rising fuel prices, adding to lingering concerns over inflationary pressures.
