Ride Donkey Cart to Work? Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Employee Seeks Permission Amid Soaring Fuel Prices

An employee of Pakistan’s civil aviation authority on Friday sought permission to ride a donkey cart to work after the government once again raised the fuel prices, according to a media report. In a letter to the director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Raja Asif Iqbal, who has been in service for 25 years and is now working at the Islamabad International Airport, said that inflation had not just “broken the backs of the poor, but also the middle class”, the Dawn newspaper reported.

He sought permission to be allowed to bring a donkey cart into the CAA parking lot, it said. “In this inflation, the organisation has halted the transport facility. Due to the rising petrol prices, it has become impossible to use personal transport.

“Please allow me to bring my donkey cart to the airport,” the man said. However, CAA spokesperson Saifullah Khan said that every member of the staff is paid a fuel allowance.

“They are provided a pick-and-drop service. A metro bus service is also available for the employees at the airport,” he said. Khan added that the application was “nothing more than a media stunt”.

The government on Friday hiked fuel prices, a week after the last hike. Petrol now costs Rs 209.86 per litre and diesel Rs 204.15 per litre. Speaking at a news conference, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that he could not let the country go bankrupt because of the “wrong decisions” of the previous Imran Khan government as international prices were going up and the government was suffering losses of about Rs 120-130 billion per month on petroleum subsidies.

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