ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that if petroleum and gas prices increase around the world, they will also increase in Pakistan.
Responding to the outrage regarding the recent increase in petroleum and gas prices, the minister stated that the propaganda about the rise in prices is as if “we are on a separate planet from earth”.
“The whole country cannot run on subsidies,” Fawad said, emphasising that the prices will reduce in Pakistan once they reduce around the world.
“Today the prices are high, tomorrow when they will decrease, they will subsequently decrease in Pakistan too,” he maintained.
Fawad encouraged people to “face difficulties together as a “nation”, claiming that economic difficulties are temporary.
The minister said that the industry, agriculture and construction sectors are making “historic profits” and that the private sector should increase salaries of the working class.
“An increase in salaries is the way to break the hike in prices,” he stated.
Fawad’s remarks came a day after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf made major increases in the prices of two petroleum products –petrol and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) – which are widely used by the public. The HSD went up by Rs12.44 per litre and petrol by Rs10.49 per litre.
