The Minister of Finance, Miftah Ismail, has announced that petroleum prices will be reduced today as Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif is keen to provide early relief to the public.
Talking to the media, the minister revealed that the Ministry of Finance received a summary from the Oil and Gas Development Authority (OGRA), and the government does not want to delay the announcement until 15 July.
He added that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the decision to reduce the prices and congratulated the public for the successful agreement between the IMF and Pakistan that was announced earlier today in Washington DC.
Minister Ismail told the media that the IMF appreciates the current government’s efforts to reduce petrol prices and provide income support to families through the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). He added that the IMF also acknowledged that the delay in the agreement has increased the circular debt by Rs. 800 billion.
The minister remarked that the public has stood by PM Sharif in difficult times and supported the government in making difficult decisions.
The OGRA has forwarded a summary for the reduction of the prices of petroleum products to the Ministry of Finance. According to sources, the summary proposes a reduction of Rs. 18 per liter in petrol prices and a reduction of Rs. 33 per liter for diesel.
The Ministry of Finance will make the final decision with the approval of PM Sharif.
The opposition has declared the decision to be ‘anti-public and damaging to the economy,’ whereas the government insists that the reduction in prices has been announced due to a fall in the prices of petroleum goods in the international market.
