Miftah Ismail, the Finance Minister, announced on Thursday that the federal government has decided to raise the price of petroleum products by Rs30 per litre, effective at midnight tonight.
The announcement was made at a press conference in Islamabad by the finance minister, who explained that the decision was made to ensure the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The price hike comes just a day after the government and the IMF failed to reach an agreement on an economic bailout, owing to the former’s indecision on fuel and electricity subsidies and the resulting budget uncertainty for the following year.
According to Ismail, some of the burden was shifted to the people, but the government was still losing money despite the massive increase in the price of petroleum products.
It’s worth noting that the PTI-led government initially agreed to the IMF’s demand to raise the price of electricity and petroleum products, but Imran Khan announced subsidies on both commodities later in March, and the current government is continuing with the same policy.
Following the decision to raise prices, the finance minister stated that financial markets would be stable, the rupee would strengthen, and the economy would benefit.
New prices (per litre):
Petrol Rs179.86
Diesel Rs174.15
Kerosene oil Rs155.56
Light diesel Rs148.31