ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Saturday dismissed the notion that the government was \u201cgiving preference\u201d to one sector or imposing an undue burden on another after it kept petrol and diesel prices unchanged \u201ctill further orders\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday night, the government kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs299.50 per litre and Rs311.47 per litre, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a post on the social media platform X, the petroleum minister shared a table of international oil prices over the past week. According to the number he shared, petrol prices ranged between $90.36 and $98.35 per barrel during June 22-26, while HSD traded between $104.79 and $109.09 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government is neither giving preference to any sector nor imposing any undue burden on the other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government is committed, within the scope of its international obligations, to pass on any benefit to the consumers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Highlighting the government\u2019s record on fuel prices, Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had so far reduced the price of diesel and petrol by Rs200 per litre and Rs155 per litre, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister\u2019s statement comes after criticism was directed at the government for not reducing the prices of petroleum products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDespite international oil prices at the pre-war level, in Pakistan petrol price still remains Rs 300 per litre. Why not pass the benefit to people?\u201d asked former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PTI\u2019s Haleem Adil Sheikh said that fuel prices had \u201cfallen across much of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYet Pakistan\u2019s corrupt government has once again refused to pass any relief on to the public. After previously hiking fuel prices by Rs137\/litre on stock purchased at much lower rates \u2014 handing massive windfall profits to oil marketing companies and petrol pumps\u2014it has repeated the same act. The people pay, while the corrupt protect vested interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) criticised the government\u2019s decision to not reduce petrol prices, saying that it showed the \u201cgovernment\u2019s indifference\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JUI spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said, \u201cThe decision to keep petroleum product prices unchanged for a week is tyrannical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that petrol prices have fallen below pre-war levels in the international market, adding that the government had protected the interests of petrol companies during price hikes and continued to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Iranian people haven\u2019t suffered as much damage due to the war as the Pakistani people have endured,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOil companies, oil tanker owners, big dealers have won. The public has lost,\u201d said journalist Zahid Gishkori about the decision to keep prices unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a Rs74 reduction in petrol prices and a Rs67 cut in high-speed diesel (HSD) prices as the government passed on the benefit of declining international oil prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes. Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the energy crunch from the US-Iran war due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade hit the global markets, the government began revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fuel prices reached their peak on April 3 when the government hiked the petrol price by Rs137.24 per litre and the HSD price by Rs184.49, taking them to Rs458.4 and Rs520.35 per litre, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid backlash over the unprecedented hikes, PM Shehbaz had brought the petrol price down to Rs378 per litre within 24 hours by slashing the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Saturday dismissed the notion that the government was \u201cgiving preference\u201d to one sector or imposing an undue burden on another after it kept petrol and diesel prices unchanged \u201ctill further orders\u201d. On Friday night, the government kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs299.50 per […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n