The Ministry of Finance has announced a partial reduction in the prices of petrol, oil and lubricants (POL) while presenting a jugglery of words and playing with the sentiments of the masses. OGRA had originally recommended a price decrease of Rs 2.69 per litre, or three percent, to Rs 75.10 per litre. However, the price of petrol has been cut by Rs 1.30 per litre, bringing the new price to Rs 76.49. The price of diesel per litre has been reduced to Rs 84.52 after a decrease of Rs 2.60. The Finance Minister claims that the government has provided a subsidy of Rs 2.5 billion to the masses by keeping the oil prices unchanged last month to ensure price stability. He said that the government did not increase the prices of petroleum products in July despite the fact the same had risen in the international market. The loss incurred by the government in July, he added, would be partially recovered in August. The question arises why is the government not passing the full benefit of low international oil prices to the masses? Instead, it is being niggardly to limit the benefit to the people, which is regrettable. Since the massive reduction in oil prices in the international markets, the government has failed to fully pass on the benefit of this price reduction to the general public. In fact the government has never passed on the full benefit of price reduction to the masses. Rather, it has imposed exorbitant taxes on the sale of POL products considering it a cash cow to meet its commitments with the International Monetary Fund. Petrol and diesel are major products that help generate most of the revenue in the oil sector. The government should not attempt to befool the nation. In fact, there is no check on prices and inflation has gone up. The relief must trickle down to the masses. There is no visible change in the prices of daily use items and fares as well as transportation charges. Reduction in oil prices is good news but unfortunately the nation never enjoyed the full benefit of such reduction. There should be an across the board effect of this price reduction in all related sectors, especially the transportation and food industry. Why is electricity so high priced still? Why the did the prices of daily use commodities not reduce? Can Mr Dar answer these questions? It is no achievement of the government and it should not take the credit. Oil prices are falling globally and the PML-N government needs to provide full relief to the common man. *