PESHAWAR - Different political parties, transporters and trade unions Tuesday called for a protest against increase in prices of petroleum products, wherein traders would stage a complete shutter down strike while transporters would hold a wheel jam strike in Peshawar on April 6.
This was decided at All Parties Conference (APC), which was held under the auspices of Jamaat-e-Islami, district Peshawar. Representatives of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, JUI-S, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami participated in the conference, while leadership of PPP-S and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz assured them through telephone that they would back the call of the APC.
Besides, the office bearers of trade unions and transporters also attended the APC. They also agreed to set up a protest camp at Chowk Yadgar on April 5 against the sudden increase in petroleum products. The participants of APC strongly rejected the surge in prices of petroleum products and said that it would further increase inflation in the country.
Prominent among them were JI Bahrullah Advocate, PTI’s Zafar Khattak, JUI-F Fazl Rehman Madani, traders representative Muhib while speaking at a news conference asked government to take decision of hike in petroleum price back otherwise they would go on strike in Peshawar on April 6.
Besides a strike, they said that they would also stage protests demonstrations on the same day, adding that the countrymen were fed up with the day-to-day increase in prices of daily use commodities. They said that to make it a successful strike, they would also meet office bearers of other political parties and traders soon.
INP adds: Peshawar Public Transport Association Tuesday warned of wheel jam strike, besides besieging the chief minister and governor houses of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if the government did not retract the recent hike in POL and CNG prices.
Sources said that transporters staged a protest demonstration and blocked the Grand Trunk road in the city for several hours for traffic against the recent price hike in petroleum products and CNG prices.
A large number of transporters turned up to participate in the protest and held placards inscribed with anti-government slogans.
The protestors maintained that the recent increase in petrol and diesel prices would cast a pall of inflation and severely disrupt transportation business as well. The protestors marched from bus stand to Hashtnagri and demanded of the government to retract the increase in oil prices.