‘Can’t afford petrol’: Pakistan PTI lawmakers ride donkey carts to assembly in protest

(Image credit: Dawn) “The ministers and (treasury) MPAs should also reach the assembly the same way on donkey carts,” PTI MPA Sajjad Ali was seen saying in a video while holding a placard describing the fuel price hike as a “petrol bomb dropped on the people”.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and provincial lawmakers staged a protest in the Sindh province against soaring fuel prices. They arrived at the provincial assembly by riding donkey carts, saying petrol had become too expensive for them to travel in their vehicles.According to Dawn news, the protest was held after petrol prices rose to Rs 390.79 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) to Rs 424.92 per litre following the latest adjustment on Thursday. PTI MPA Sajjad Ali and other lawmakers rode donkey carts from areas near the assembly to its main gate, carrying placards and raising slogans against the federal government.“The ministers and (treasury) MPAs should also reach the assembly the same way on donkey carts,” Ali was seen saying in a video while holding a placard describing the fuel price hike as a “petrol bomb dropped on the people”.Ali said the protest was intended to highlight the difficulties faced by ordinary people because of rising fuel costs.“Petrol has become so expensive that we cannot even come to the assembly in our vehicles,” he said, adding that people were bearing the brunt of the government’s policies.The latest increase comes amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East, which have disrupted major oil supply routes and pushed fuel prices higher over the past two months.The current petrol and diesel prices include government taxes and duties of Rs114 per litre on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. The government now adjusts fuel prices daily.The Pakistan bar council also criticised the repeated fuel price increases. A joint meeting of its Executive Committee and Rules Committee on Thursday called the hikes unprecedented and urged the government to take steps to control prices and provide relief to citizens.The government has meanwhile introduced a relief scheme targeting users of motorcycles, rickshaws, Qingqis and other two- and three-wheelers, as well as small cars with engines up to 800cc.Under the scheme, motorcycle, rickshaw and other eligible two- and three-wheeler users can receive relief on 20 litres of petrol a month. Owners of cars with engines up to 800cc are eligible for a Rs 100-per-litre relief on 30 litres of petrol each month.However, the scheme faced problems on its first day of nationwide rollout on Thursday, with several petrol pumps refusing to accept the digital app introduced for the subsidy. The pumps said they lacked the required system to sell petrol at Rs100 per litre less.The federal government also brought back austerity measures on Thursday. These include ordering markets to close by 9pm and cutting fuel allocations for official vehicles by 50% for three months.