ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s outgoing government announced a massive increase in the prices of petrol and diesel on Tuesday, saying the decision was taken to safeguard the “national interest” since the country was in a stringent International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and had to abide by its commitments.
Pakistan determines the prices of petroleum products on a fortnightly basis, taking into consideration the volatility in the international oil market and the value of the US dollar.
In a brief televised statement, the country’s finance minister Ishaq Dar announced an increase of Rs19.95 and Rs19.90 per liter in the rates of petrol and diesel, respectively.
He was expected to share the revised rates with the people a day earlier but decided to delay the announcement.
“There was a significant increase in the prices of petroleum products in the international markets in the last 15 days,” he said before announcing the new prices. “The rate of high-speed diesel increased from $96.26 on July 16 to $111.46 on the closing of July 31. Similarly, the price of petrol surged from $89.14 on July 16 to $97.49.”
“The government checked OGRA’s [Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s] working [of the revised rates of petroleum products] last night until about 3 am,” he continued. “This also caused the delay in the announcement since we were trying to determine if there was a way we could reduce the [proposed] prices. Then we also discussed this with the prime minister in the morning who obviously said that we should try to do whatever was best for the people.”
Dar said Pakistan was part of the IMF program, and everyone was aware of the commitments it had made with the international lender regarding the petroleum levy.
He added the previous administration led by prime minister Imran Khan had also deviated from the IMF program, which led to a great deal of financial challenges to the country.
“It is necessary to implement the minimum petroleum price increase that has been calculated in the country’s national interest,” he said.
After the government’s announcement, the new prices of high-speed diesel and petrol now stand at Rs273.40 and Rs272.95, respectively.
Dar said these rates would be implemented with immediate effect.
