ISLAMABAD: Bragging about government’s pro-poor policies, Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar Saturday broke bitter-sweet news for the consumers of petrole products in Pakistan.
“The petrol will go dearer by Rs2.50 per litre, whereas high speed diesel by Rs1.75/litre. That’s it. We have decided to freeez the prices of other products for the next month,” Dar told reporters here.
The new prices will take effect from 12:00 AM Sunday November 1, 2015.
“We are not increasing the rates of High Octane Blending Component (HOBC), kerosene oil, and light diesel in order to provide relief to the people,” Dar said.
Earlier, speculations were doing rounds in the media that the ‘taxing’ government of Pakistan has made up its mind to burn a hole in the pockets of consumers.
“The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has proposed a backbreaking increase in the prices of various petroleum and oil products despite the fact the prices of crude oil have fallen worldwide,”
the petrol , the fuel of the masses, is likely to go dearer by Rs5.35/litre, diesel by Rs2.43/litre, light diesel by Rs3.63/litre, kerosene oil by Rs3.17/litre, and high octane blending component (HOBC) will most probably see a mighty jump of Rs6.10/litre.
This hike, if officialized, would be due primarily to a hike in the general sales tax (GST), the government sources said adding Pakistani rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar would also be one of the reasons for it.
