ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Wednesday blamed opposition street protests for a slump in a state-owned oil company’s share price that forced a part sell-off to be shelved. The government decided to hold back the auction of 10 percent of shares in the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), which manages Pakistan’s sizeable oil and gas reserves.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahirul Qadri led thousands of supporters in weeks of protests outside Parliament, pressing for the resignation of Premier Nawaz Sharif over alleged poll rigging. The rallies, which began in August, descended into violence at points. They failed to force Sharif from power but destabilised the government for a while.

“Due to sit-ins the share price of OGDCL fell from 274 rupees ($2.60) to 225 rupees ($2.20) and we do not want to sell so low,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said.

“Had there been no sit-in and share price had remained same, the government would have received $600 million, $200 million domestically,” Dar added.