New Delhi: The ongoing war in West Asia is now having a direct impact on the lives of the common people of Pakistan. Pakistan, which was trying to shock the world, is now busy preparing to impose lockdown-like restrictions on the public in its own country. The reason is the attack by Houthi rebels on the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, after which there has been a huge rise in the prices of crude oil in the Gulf countries, and its direct effect is now visible on the economy of Pakistan.
Due to this pressure of rising oil prices, Shahbaz government is now pressurizing the Pakistani people to reduce the consumption of petrol. The government is considering taking steps like smart lockdown to reduce its increasing economic burden and save fuel. Recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan called an important cabinet meeting, in which many proposals were brainstormed to deal with the rising prices of petrol. In this meeting, mainly ways to reduce transport and fuel use were discussed.
Proposal to work only 4 days a week
According to the report of Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the Shahbaz government is considering the proposal to work only four days a week in government and private offices. Under this scheme, it is being said that offices will be closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so that people go out of their homes less and by reducing the use of vehicles, the consumption of petrol also reduces. Along with this, there is also talk of implementing a rotation system for government employees, which will be somewhat like the odd-even system. In this, employees will come to office on different days, so that the number of people coming and going on the roads can be reduced.
According to reports, the number of government and private transport vehicles can also be reduced by about 50 percent. Apart from this, sources say that a proposal to keep the markets closed three days a week is also under consideration, along with reducing the time of opening and closing of the markets is also being discussed. However, at present all these proposals are only at the consideration stage and have not been presented as a final policy. If reports are to be believed, the government may soon take a final decision on these smart lockdown measures.
Confusion increased due to different statements of ministers
When Pakistani media questioned the ministers regarding these claims, their answers further increased the confusion among the public. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Tarif Fazal Chaudhary rejected the news related to smart lockdown and said that he had no information about it and the meeting was only about the rising prices and consumption of petroleum. On the other hand, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said that re-implementation of some old laws is being considered to reduce consumption, because supply is being disrupted due to tension in Gulf countries. Tarar also said that the Prime Minister has asked for discussions to reduce consumption, in which some measures like timing of opening and closing of markets are already in place. According to him, at present it is being ascertained which measures need to be re-implemented in the current situation, and a decision on this will be taken soon.
Petrol and diesel prices are continuously increasing
The situation regarding petrol prices in Pakistan is worsening day by day. On Tuesday, once again the public was hit by fuel cost, when the price of petrol was increased by 4.42 Pakistani rupees per liter, after which its price became 380 rupees per liter. At the same time, the price of diesel was also increased by Rs 6.10 per liter, due to which its price reached Rs 410 per liter. The general public of Pakistan is troubled by these rising prices, and smart lockdown on petrol seems to be the only solution for the government at present.