ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday revised the prices of petroleum products.
Talking to reporters, Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar said that prices of petrol had been reduced by Rs 1.80 per liter and it would be sold for Rs 69.50 per liter from August 6. “Diesel prices have been lowered from Rs 79.90 per liter to Rs 77.90, providing a relief of Rs 2.5 per liter to the people,” he said. The prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil, however, remain unchanged.
Dar said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had recommended an increase of Rs 10.01 per liter in the prices of light diesel oil and Rs 13 per liter in Kerosene oil prices.
The authority had also recommended decreasing petrol prices by Rs 3.87 per liter and diesel prices by Rs 5.07 per liter.
Dar said that the government had reduced the prices of petrol and diesel only by half of the proposed reduction to lessen the burden it had to bear for not reducing prices of Kerosene and light diesel oil.
“The change in prices of oil products was to be announced on July 31. However, due to the constitutional vacuum, it could not be done,” he said.
The prices during the first five days of August, therefore, continued at the rate prevalent during July, 2017. Dar made the announcement of a day after he took oath as the finance minister of Pakistan in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Published in Daily Times, August 6th 2017.
