Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has said that a full reduction in petrol prices will be passed on to consumers as soon as international prices fall, calling it a direct instruction from the Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.
Speaking on a private news channel, Malik explained how petrol prices are determined in Pakistan. “The international market price of petrol and diesel is looked at, then expenses, the State Bank’s dollar exchange rate, duties and taxes are added these are the four or five basic things that determine the price,” he said.
He added that because international prices are still $15 higher than before, a difference in rates remains at the pump.
However, he said that the situation could change soon. “Now crude oil prices have dropped. God willing, within a day or two, if petrol prices also fall, the full reduction will be passed on. This is the Prime Minister’s instruction, this is his promise, and this is his order to me,” Malik stated.
The minister was responding to questions from journalist Absar Alam, who pressed him on why consumers had not seen a bigger relief despite falling global oil prices.
Alam compared prices from late February or early March to June 19 and June 27. He also raised the oil industry’s protest over last week’s price reduction, which companies called a unilateral decision that caused a loss of Rs. 104 billion to oil marketing companies and refineries.
A meeting between the PM, Malik and industry CEOs followed, which Alam said pointed to companies pressuring the government into holding back relief.
Malik pushed back on that. “As much as you know me, by the grace of Allah, I do not come under anyone’s pressure, nor do I make decisions because someone tells me to,” he said.
He pointed out that he had shared the complete weekly pricing data on his social media account at 9am that morning so anyone could verify how the price was calculated. “The price was determined according to the same method that has been used for two decades.”
He also noted that the petroleum levy had been brought down from Rs. 84 per litre before the war to Rs. 66 per litre and that crude oil had gone from $76 per barrel before the war to $136 on April 2 before coming down to around $92.
When Alam pointed out that oil companies wanted profits to remain in place but refused to absorb losses, Malik did not disagree. “This is part of business that sometimes you make a profit and sometimes you suffer a loss. We have no objection to that,” he said.
