Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has dismissed reports that the federal government is prioritising specific sectors or placing an unfair financial burden on others after keeping fuel prices unchanged.
The statement followed a notification from the Petroleum Division, which maintained the price of petrol at Rs299.50 per litre and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) at Rs311.47 per litre until further notice.
To clarify the decision, Malik shared global oil market data from June 22 to June 26 on the social media platform X. The data showed international petrol prices fluctuating between $90.36 and $98.35 per barrel, while HSD traded between $104.79 and $109.09 per barrel.
“The government is neither giving preference to any sector nor imposing any undue burden on the other,” Malik stated, adding that the government was committed to pass on any benefit to the consumers within the scope of its international obligations.
Defending the government’s fiscal record, the minister said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had decreased the price of diesel by Rs200 per litre and petrol by Rs155 per litre last week, pointing to the weekly Friday night price revisions implemented to manage the domestic impact of the global energy crunch amid the US-Iran war.
Domestic fuel pricing hit its highest point on April 3, when the government increased petrol by Rs137.24 per litre to reach Rs458.4 and HSD by Rs184.49 per litre to reach Rs520.35.
Following public backlash over the surge, PM Sharif lowered the petrol price to Rs378 per litre within 24 hours by reducing the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre.
This was followed by a number of weekly revisions until a peace deal was finalised.
