Pakistan’s finance minister has stated that the government had no other choice but to raise the cost of all petroleum goods in the country since the country was on the verge of a crisis.
Miftah Ismail went on to say that the prime minister is unhappy with the decision, and that he cried while signing the petroleum summary, but that there is no other option.
The Shehbaz Sharif government increased petrol and diesel prices by PKR 30 per litre on Thursday in order to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout, triggering a rise in the cost of production in the country.
Bikers to get Ehsaas Cards for cheaper petrol
According to the media reports, this is the largest-ever increase in the pricing of all petroleum goods in one go. Miftah Ismail, the Finance Minister, said during a press conference that this was the first step toward persuading the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deliver the next tranche as soon as possible.
The price increase came after talks in Doha between the Pakistani government and the International Monetary Fund. These talks were aimed at obtaining a policy agreement at the end of the IMF’s seventh assessment of Pakistan’s USD 6 billion programmes, which has been stuck since early April. If Pakistan does not eliminate fiscally unsustainable fuel and electricity subsidies, the IMF has refused to renew the USD 6 billion programme. It had given Islamabad two days to lift the embargo in order to resume discussions.
