In the end of last month, a high-level Pakistani delegation went to Moscow to hold discussions on buying of oil from Russia on low price. Minister of state for Petroleum Musadik Malik and the petroleum secretary were also part of this delegation. Soon after Pakistani officials met with their Russian counterparts, it was reported by a segment of Pakistani media that Moscow had denied provision of oil to Islamabad on discount rate.
However, when the delegation returned to home, Musadik Malik announced that Moscow had agreed to provide crude oil to Pakistan on low price. Since that, the nation was awaiting cheap Russian oil, but yesterday Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari astonished that entire nation by giving a different statement in the US.
FM Bhutto, who is on the US visit, while giving an interview, denied the reports that Pakistan is going to buy any discounted energy from Russia. On the other hand, Minister of state for Petroleum on the same day refuted FM claim and reiterated that Russia will, in fact, give Pakistan crude oil at discounted rates.
Two contradictory statements by two members of the federal cabinet over an important national matter not only confused the nation but also revealed the fact that ministers of the coalition government are not on one page over different governmental and national matters.
This attitude also shows that how serious is the government to solve issue of public interests and provide some relief to the masses who are badly affected by the historical inflation.
This attitude of the government is not less than a big joke with the entire nation, which is not acceptable to the nation in anyway. Now,it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take a serious notice of these contradicted statements of his ministers and tell the nation the reality about Russian oil.
