Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), on Friday rejected a plan to raise the price of petroleum goods for the period April 16-30. According to the Twitter handle for the economy, the decision was taken to bring assistance to the populace.
The present government’s choice to maintain the same pricing will oblige it to provide another substantial subsidy from April 16 to April 30.
On February 28, former Prime Minister Imran Khan promised a Rs10 per litre cut in petrol and diesel prices, as well as a price freeze until the budget for 2022-23 is revealed.
However, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had forwarded a petition to the Finance Division a day earlier, proposing to raise the price of petrol by Rs21.50 and diesel by Rs51.30 (based on the existing/current petroleum levy and GST).
The OGRA has proposed an increase of Rs83.50 per litre of petrol and Rs119.88 per litre of diesel (based on the federal government’s recommended petroleum charge of Rs30 and 17 percent GST), according to the proposal.
The government chastises the PTI for maintaining stable tariffs.
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi declared at a news conference alongside ex-finance minister Miftah Ismail that no country in the world sells fuel for less than its original price.
According to Abbasi, the existing government is suffering issues as a result of the previous administration’s incompetence, which included setting the price of fuel at Rs149, putting a strain on the national budget.
The remaining Rs35 billion was paid from the national exchequer due to the PTI government’s policy of keeping petroleum product tariffs constant.
“If the prices are maintained till June, the government would have to pay Rs240 billion from its own resources […] the tariffs were imposed by PTI to get cheap publicity,” he stated, criticizing the Imran Khan-led government’s decision to maintain the rates until the next budget.
According to Abbasi, if PM Shehbaz approved OGRA’s summary, the price of petrol would be Rs265 and diesel would be Rs235, despite the previous administration assuring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that they would be raised.
