Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that prices of petroleum products will remain unchanged in the country as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is unwilling to further burden the inflation-hit masses.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, the finance minister said that the government may have to increase the prices in the long run but for now there will be no increase in the prices of petroleum products.
He said that despite increasing prices of petroleum products, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided not to transfer the burden of price hike on masses.
However, the minister took to Twitter after the press conference and clarified that petroleum prices will not be increased at present, adding, “Due to changing circumstances and international oil prices, we may have to revisit our decision soon.”
At the press conference, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government destroyed the economy of the country. He said the agriculture sector was badly ignored and resultantly Pakistan imported wheat, worth $600 million, last year. He said this year wheat, worth $1.5 billion, will have to be imported.
Miftah Ismail said prices of flour soared up from Rs35 per kilogram to Rs80 per kilogram during the last four years.
Talking about sugar price, Miftah Ismail said that the government is providing cheap sugar and it has directed to further decrease the price of the commodity. He also said the government will not import sugar this year.
The minister said that Pakistan has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend the bailout programme for one year and enhance the size of the loan programme from $6 billion to $8 billion. Talks between IMF and Pakistani authorities are expected to start in the coming week with a focus on petroleum and electricity subsidies.
One of the key IMF demands is the withdrawal of the relief package announced by former prime minister Imran Khan. Under the package, the former premier had announced to keep prices of petroleum products unchanged till June 2022.
The government is currently providing a subsidy of about Rs31 per litre on petrol and Rs73 per litre on diesel, in addition, a subsidy of Rs5 per unit is also being provided on electricity.
