Govt still undecided over reviewing petrol price

The federal government is still undecided over reviewing the petrol price after 17 days as the authorities are bound to review the prices after every 15 days.

According to media reports, the announcement related to a modification in the petroleum products prices was delayed due to the foreign visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he was visiting Uzbekistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

The delayed announcement of the petrol price created confusion among the nationals as they were expecting a decrease in petroleum products following a reduction of oil prices in the global market. Speculations started after the delayed announcement that the federal government may not give benefit to the masses following reduced oil prices.

After concluding the Uzbekistan visit, PM Shehbaz Sharif departed for London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. Moreover, he is also expected to meet Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif.

As per local media reports, the government is likely to announce new petrol price on Sunday night (today).

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told Geo News on Saturday that the prices of petroleum products will either be reduced or increased by Rs0.80 and the final decision will be taken on Sunday.

Speaking in the Geo News programme, “Naya Pakistan”, Miftah said that the US dollar will slide down against the Pakistani rupee, however, asserting that the government will not interfere with the movement.

The finance minister assured the inflation-weary people that the price of electricity will decline by October. “The government exempted consumers who use up to 300 units from fuel charges adjustment (FCA) in August and September bills, however, a decision regarding FCA being charged after that will be taken later,” he said.

He said that the “whole world” is standing with Pakistan at this time. “Pakistan is likely to get $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank this month and Qatar will invest $3 billion in Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, solar and stock exchange.”