ISLAMABAD :. In a bid to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the government on Wednesday increased diesel rates by Rs 59.16 and petrol Rs 24.3, kerosin by Rs 29.16 per litre.
With the latest increase , the new petrol price has gone up to Rs 233.89 per litre. diesel price went up to Rs 263.31 a litre and kerosin will be available at Rs 211.43. Light diesel rates increased by Rs 29.16 and its new rates have been fixed at Rs 207.47 a litre .
Finance minister , Miftah Ismail, and Energy minister , Musadik Malik , announced the latest increase in oil prices at a press conference . They claimed that increase in oil prices was a must to avoid default of the country.
Earlier, a summary for jacking -up diesel rates by Rs 59.16 and petrol by Rs 24.3 per litre has already been sent to the prime minister and its approval is likely to be granted sometimes today ( Wednesday), official sources said.
Finance minister , Miftah Ismail , has been hinting at upward revision in the oil price to seal the deal with IMF for $ 1 billion loan
In the last one week , he !Miftah) repeatedly advocated complete withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products before June 30 , 2022. Mr Miftah has been publicaly announcing that withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products was the only option to secure the deal with IMF for $ 1 billion loan under extended financial facility (EFF).
Pakistan is facing serious risk of default and it badly needs IMF support to avoid looming threat of default on foreign liabilities . Pakistan ‘s economic woes turned into a monstrous challenge when ousted prime minister , Imran Khan , capped the petroleum products prices in last part of his regime . His this one act put Pakistan’s economy at devastating path . It not only put Pakistan ‘s already frail economy on complete destruction , but also turned Pakistan into an untrustworthy state. Things started to even go worse , when former prime minister Imran Khan, announced to march on Islamabad in May last to protest against dismissal of his government . After getting an idea of end of his rule , former prime minister intentionally took decisions that could expedite Pakistan’s collapse on economic front . His actions in post government days were against the interest of the state, but none of the state organs took its notice and it prompted Imran Khan to continue to go for his dangerous moves to push Pakistan into a situation where its, God forbids , survival becomes a challenge . Interestingly , Imran Khan has successfully misled a vast majority of Pakistani youth who take PTI chief as an honest and trustworthy leader . This section of the society is following Imran Khan blindly and its the real power of PTI chief to push forward his agenda of destablising Pakistan and make it prune to foreign intervention. To understand the real agenda of Imran Khan one needs to recall Shireen Mizari’s letter addressed to the United Nations to intervene in Pakistan for human violations during Shahbaz regime .Imran Khan is continuously using a fake foreign conspiracy theory as a tool to misguide youth of Pakistan . Despite more than one clarifications of the concerned Pakistani institutions , the PTI chief is not ready to give up his narrative of foreign conspiracy in dismissal of his government . Imran Khan’s continuous attack on the army , a key institute that is withholding Pakistan and defending it against foreign and local conspiracies, is a part of his same agenda
In the given situation , when Imran Khan is taking the current economic crisis as a golden opportunity to destablise Pakistan , task of pulling the country back from the verge of collapse is not an easy job. Although, the current regime is doing some efforts to pull Pakistan back from the economic crisis , but its efforts seem either too little or half – hearted for reasons better known to PMLN leadership.
Former Finance minister , Shaukat Tarun criticised the government for increasing the oil prices . He said the IMF condition to reduce deficit on petroleum products could be met through some other means . Former Information minister , Fawad Chaudhary , said PTI will launch public protest against hike in petroleum products prices.
