'PTI govt decided to buy Russian oil on discounted rates in April'

ISLAMABAD: Former Energy Minister Hammad Azhar on Friday revealed that the previous PTI government had decided to purchase oil at discounted rates from Russia in April and would have never thought of dropping a petrol ‘atom bomb’ of Rs60 per litre on the masses, ARY NEWS reported.

Addressing a press conference along with former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Hammad Azhar said that they received an offer to buy Russian oil at discounted rates in March. “In April, we decided to purchase the oil besides also devising a comprehensive plan for improving economic conditions,” he said.

He lamented that the incumbent government and its finance minister Miftah Ismail did not know that there are no sanctions on buying oil from Russia. “In the last 40 days of this government, the rupee has weakened by Rs20 against the dollar,” he said.

Read More: ‘MIFTAH ISMAIL ADMITS REFUSING OIL PURCHASE FROM RUSSIA FEARING US’

He further shared that the hours-long loadshedding in a day has inflicted billions of losses to the economy and businesses in the country.