Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik to go to Karachi and negotiate with oil refineries. Objective: bring down diesel prices. The instruction was confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office. Shehbaz gave the directive in a meeting with Malik. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Climate Change Minister Dr Musadik Malik and MNA Hamza Shehbaz were also present on the occasion.
Key Highlights
- PM directs petroleum minister to visit Karachi for refinery talks
- The aim is to bring down the cost of locally made diesel.
- Petrol, diesel prices rise the day after under daily pricing mechanism
- Last week government had already increased dealers’ margin by 15.5 percent
- PM wants immediate relief to the public
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik to travel to Karachi immediately and hold talks with oil refineries to secure relief for consumers on fuel prices, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
According to the PMO, at a meeting… pic.twitter.com/c9T3EzSrqc
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The PMO said the prime minister instructed Malik to go to Karachi immediately. He called on the minister to take measures to reduce the pressure of fuel prices on the public. Shehbaz had instructed Malik to negotiate with oil refineries. “The aim is to get measures that will reduce the price of diesel produced locally.
On that score, the PMO’s statement was blunt. It said the petroleum minister should finish negotiations with the refineries as soon as possible. “The government should provide as much relief to the public as it can, immediately,” it added.
Petrol Prices Up Just a Day Earlier
This order comes after a price hike. The government increased petrol prices by Rs3.34 per liter on Tuesday. High-speed diesel has risen by Rs5.27 per liter. Both of those increases were under the government’s daily pricing mechanism. It was introduced after global oil disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.
Dealers Had Already Fought Back Hard
Fuel pricing has been a major issue in recent weeks. Last week, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers’ Association had given the federal government a 72-hour ultimatum. The association attributed the government’s failure to fulfill its commitments to the Petroleum Minister. The dealers wanted to replace the existing fixed margin with a variable margin which was linked to retail prices of petrol and diesel. They suggested a rate of 8 percent of retail prices.
The government on Friday approved a 15.5 percent increase in dealers’ margins on both fuels to avert a nationwide strike. That took the margin up from Rs 8.64 to Rs 9.98 per liter, an increase of Rs 1.34. The new margin will go into effect on September 1.
Dealers also lobbied to link their margins to retail prices, a change that came with the switch from fortnightly to daily price changes. The government, however, decided to stick to the daily pricing mechanism as it is. With diesel prices now under renewed scrutiny, the next few days in Karachi will show if direct talks with refineries can bring the relief the government has promised.
