As expected and promised, the federal government has not changed the petrol prices once again. In a notification, the Finance Division said that as per the decision of Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 28th, the petroleum product prices will remain unchanged. “Subsequently, the government will bear the additional burden of Rs. 33 billion for the fortnight (1-15 April 2022) to keep the prices at the existing level.
The unchanged prices will be implemented from April 1st, 2022.
Current Petrol Prices
It means the petrol price will remain Rs. 149.86, High-Speed Diesel (HSD) still stands at Rs. 144.15, while Kerosene Oil (SKO) will continue to cost Rs. 125.56 and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) will remain unchanged at Rs. 118.31.
Government’s Stance
In February, the government announced that it would not increase petrol prices to give a sigh of relief to the masses. During a speech, the prime minister said that everybody thought that the increasing petrol and commodity prices will be temporary, but after the situation in Ukraine, the government knew that the prices will not come down any time soon in the international market.
During the same speech, the premier insisted that the petrol price in Pakistan is still very low compared to other countries. “Pakistan stands at 25th position in terms of lowest petrol and diesel prices,” he said.
He said that if government stops providing subsidies, the petrol price will reach Rs. 220 per liter. “The petrol prices will remain the same till the next budget in June,” he added.
After the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, crude oil prices reached up to $135 per barrel, the highest in the last 13 years. Although the international prices have come down to $105, they are still relatively high. Amid talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, the experts believe prices will go further down, but we all have to wait and see.
What do you think about the government’s policy of sustaining petrol prices? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
