Once again this government is trying to befool people this time in a tricky way.
The federal government reportedly plans to give some respite to the middle and lower middle class amid the ongoing inflation storm. As per a media report, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has asked the finance ministry to provide cheap petrol to bike owners and rickshaw drivers. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s house today.
Furthermore, in order to avoid an objection by the IMF, roughly Rs. 150 billion annual subsidy on account of Rs. 25 to Rs. 50 per liter is planned to be recovered from car owners. The sources have claimed that the proposal is to raise the petrol price from Rs. 300 to Rs. 325 per liter for car owners but reduce it to Rs. 250 to Rs. 225 per liter for motorcyclists.
The prime minister has asked the authorities to finalize the proposal and present it to him as soon as possible. “Motorcyclists and rickshaw drivers belong to the lower middle class, and the government will do its best to provide them some relief,” the premier asserted.
It is pertinent to mention that the previous government also proposed a similar plan to give petrol at a lower price to motorcycle owners; however, the plan never saw the daylight and remained in the papers.
On February 28, in shockingly unexpected news, petrol prices fell. Earlier in the day, OGRA had suggested a price increase for all petroleum products, but the government did not heed that advice. Instead of hiking the petrol price, the government had chosen to decrease the cost of petrol.
Current Petrol Price
The petrol price fell by Rs. 5, and now it costs Rs. 267 instead of Rs. 272. We know it’s not a huge price difference and will not affect inflation, but it is still something.
The diesel price remains the same as before: Rs. 280. Following are the current prices of fuel goods in Pakistan:
Petrol Rs. 267
High-Speed Diesel (HSD) Rs. 280
Light-Diesel Oil (LDO) Rs. 184.68
Kerosene Oil Rs. 187.73
