The government announced a Rs55 per litre hike in the price of petrol and high-speed diesel each on Friday.
The announcement was made by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik during a press conference alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Dar said during the press conference that the new prices will come into effect from midnight.
He began by talking about the ongoing war between Iran and the US and Israel, adding that the conflict had spilled over.
In this scenario, he continued, the prices of petroleum products were soaring high. “There has been an increase of 50 per cent to 70pc in various products,” he noted, adding that in other countries, the trickle-down effect was visible with an “automatic increase in [petroleum] prices”.
But in Pakistan, he said, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been “careful and deliberations have been ongoing for the past two to three weeks”.
“There is a permanent committee that reviews [the situation] regularly under the leadership of Ali Pervaiz and Aurangzeb,” he said, adding that the PM had also held meetings and reviewed the global situation.
“A committee led by me was then constituted,” he said, adding that it also included Malik and Aurangzeb. “We engaged the relevant stakeholders, and our objective was to pass the minimum effect [of the Middle East conflict on petroleum prices] to the end consumer.”
He said the government was making efforts to work with other countries to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, “but God knows how long it will take”.
PM Shehbaz and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had also been in contact with the civilian and military leadership of other countries in this connection, he mentioned.
He concluded by saying that the new measures taken in view of the ongoing situation would come into effect from 12am on Saturday.
Speaking after him, Aurangzeb said the committee constituted by the PM had been meeting daily for the past five days, where the stock of the situation was taken.
He said energy and Pakistan’s economy were joined at the hip. “So we are also looking at the wider implications for the economy,” he said, referring to the ongoing Middle East crisis and its effect on petroleum products’ supply and prices.
However, at present, “we are at a good place in terms of macrostability … So there is no panic discussion. But having said that, hope is not a strategy. Therefore, we have to come together as whole-of-government. We have to do scenario planning and analysis, so that our approach as a whole-of-government remains proactive”, he explained.
More to follow
