Govt under fire in Senate for oil price hike.

ISLAMABAD -- The ruling coalition in the centre on Monday came under fire in the Senate over recent all-time high increase in prices of petroleum products amid demand of both the treasury and the opposition to summon joint sitting of the parliament over the spike in terror attacks in the country. The lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed their grief over the last two days' tragedies the country has witnessed - first two transport accidents that left at least 54 people dead and then a powerful bomb explosion at a Police Lines mosque in Peshawar.

The senators were unanimous in their demand that the government should summon a joint sitting of the parliament to share its security plan with the special session to bring down increasing terrorist incidents in the country.

The treasury and the opposition also blamed each other for the present political and economic crisis in the country with the former putting the blame on the last PTI government for the mess and the latter saying that the government had no plan to decrease the rising inflation. At the outset of the sitting, Leader of the Opposition Dr Shahzad Waseem said that the government's decision to increase Rs 35 per-liter price in petrol has fallen over the masses like a bomb shell.

'The irony is that this increase in price would not stop further and the government would continue to give this bitter pill again and again,' he said. He accused the government and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the continuous flight of dollar against rupee. He said that the ruling coalition would violate the Constitution if it delayed the election of...