Islamabad [Pakistan]: Faced with major protests over fuel and electricity prices the Pakistan government headed by Nawaz Shari announced a reduction in petrol prices by Rs 8.47 per litre for the upcoming two-week period, reported Geo News.
This adjustment brings the new petrol price down to Rs260.96 per litre from the previous rate of Rs 269.43. Alongside this, the Pakistan government has also lowered the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs 6.70, reducing it from Rs 272.77 to Rs 266.07 per litre.
This price reduction was officially announced by the Ministry of Information on Tuesday and comes ahead of the country’s Independence Day celebrations on August 14.
Despite this relief, the petroleum development levy (PDL) has remained unchanged at Rs 70 per litre, Geo News reported. The PDL was recently increased from Rs 60 to Rs 70 per litre as part of the federal budget for 2024-25, a measure aimed at generating additional revenue despite fluctuations in global fuel prices.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced another protest days after his party deferred its two-week-long protest in Rawalpindi.
Naeem said that JI would be considering calling for a peaceful protest by joining forces with trader groups, reported Geo News. He further said that consultations with traders are underway and that they have several options for organizing peaceful protests in collaboration with trade bodies.
The announcement of new protests follows the party’s decision to delay its 14-day sit-in last week after reaching agreements with the government. These negotiations addressed demands such as reducing high power tariffs and reassessing contracts with independent power producers (IPPs), which have been criticized for contributing to high utility bills due to large capacity payments, as reported by Geo News.
During his press conference on Tuesday, Hafiz Naeem criticized the ruling elite for worsening the country’s law and order issues, as reported by Geo News.
Naeem acknowledged that while expanding the tax base is necessary, he criticized the government for burdening the already inflation-stricken people with more taxes, particularly affecting traders and industrialists, as reported by Geo News