ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The government has increased the price of kerosene oil by Rs 39.20 per liter.
The new price of kerosene oil has been set at Rs 358.1 per liter.
Moreover, the Ministry of Energy says that the government will pay a subsidy of Rs 23 billion by maintaining the prices of petrol and diesel.
The subsidy of Rs 23 billion will be paid from March 14 to March 20. Petrol will be priced at Rs 49.63 per liter, while diesel will be priced at Rs 75.5 per liter.
The Ministry of Energy says that this amount will be paid to the oil marketing companies as price differential claims; price differential claims of Rs 23 billion will be paid by OGRA.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced to keep the diesel and petrol prices unchanged for the next week, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
With this decision, the retail price of petrol will remain fixed at Rs321.17 per litre, while diesel will be sold at the previous price of Rs 335.86 per litre across Pakistan.
The PMO statement added that the “Prime Minister has decided not to increase the prices of petroleum products this time, as per his promise to the public, despite a further increase in oil prices in the global market.”
The premier said that prices are not being increased to reduce the burden on the common man.
He highlighted that due to the efforts of the diplomatic and economic team, adequate quantities of crude oil are available for the country’s needs.
“The federal and provincial governments are working together to ensure that no one is charged more than the price fixed by the government,” the premier stated.
“As per our promise, we will provide relief to the people in these difficult circumstances as much as possible.” PM Shehbaz was quoted as saying.
According to the PMO statement, Shehbaz stated that the global economy is currently under pressure due to tensions in the region, which is likely to have a profound impact on the economy of Pakistan.
“Thanks to timely policy-making, austerity measures by the government and financial discipline, efforts are being made to deal with this situation humanely,” the Prime Minister maintained.
The premier appraised the provincial governments for fully supporting the federal government in these austerity measures.
