Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has withdrawn from the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland to handle the fuel shortage in Pakistan. Reports say that most of the petrol stations in some of the major cities in Pakistan have been shut down on a temporary basis.
The ministers have blamed the huge demand for shortage of fuel. On the other hand critics have said that the shortage has been caused due to the incompetence of the government. Sharif had earlier called a meeting and assured to punish those who have caused the problem. This is the second year in a row the Prime Minister has pulled out of the WEF in Davos.
In 2014, the PM had pulled out of the meeting due to the Taliban attack. Pakistan has faced fuel crisis for many years. Sharif during the 2013 elections had promised that he would solve this problem. It was just last week that most of the fuel pumps were hit with shortages. The petroleum ministry explained that a sharp decline in the global oil prices had forced many compressed gas users to switch to petrol.
The shortage came just a few days after the banks refused to lend any more money to the Pakistan State Oil owned by the government. The firm is responsible for most of the Pakistan’s requirements. Meanwhile the opposition parties have took the situation’s advantage and staged angry demonstrations and have demanded a quick action from the government.
Photo credits: dailytimes
