Heavy subsidy on oil, Imran's toy bomb hidden for Shahbaz government

ISLAMABAD (Ansar Abbasi) In the last days of his rule, Imran Khan's government's decision to freeze the prices of petroleum products by giving huge subsidy of Rs 150 billion per month was termed as a booby trap. The alleged purpose of which was to thwart the present government led by Shahbaz Sharif.

 An official source said that the huge subsidy on petroleum products is a big problem for the new government, it is proving very difficult for the new government to end this subsidy and withdraw the decision to freeze prices.

 If the subsidy continues and the government does not increase the prices of petroleum products, it will cost the country more than the defense budget.

 The source said that the budget cannot be made with a subsidy of 150 150 billion on petroleum products alone. It will come to light that this situation is like a well for the government.

 "We are appealing to God for a decrease in worldwide oil costs," the source said.

 He warned that the IMF would never accept such a large subsidy on oil.

 "Everyone," he said

This situation could harm the popularity of the incumbent Prime Minister and especially the PML-N and as a result benefit Imran Khan and the PTI. When contacted, Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen of the Imran Khan government said that the then government had not taken any unwise step by freezing oil prices till the next budget.

 He clarified that the government has collected Rs.

 He acknowledged that oil prices had risen sharply around the world, but said that this was not the case.

 He said the government had earlier wanted to provide subsidies to certain people but there was no mechanism in place to do so. Therefore, a subsidy has been announced for all consumers.