ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday said that government may raise the prices of petroleum products in coming days, ARY News reported.
While speaking the pre-budget seminar on Tuesday, the finance minister said, “petroleum prices will further go up in coming days”.
“As per the commitment given by former finance minister Shaukat Tarin to the IMF, per litre price of diesel should be Rs300 and that of petrol Rs270,” Ismail said.
The finance minister requested that PTI government took loans worth Rs20,000 billion in 3.8 years, the peak loan amount took by any government in the history of Pakistan.
“PM Shehbaz-led coalition government took tough decisions to save country from financial crisis,” Ismail said, adding that PML-N will provide release to people before leaving government or completion of tenure.
“The government will provide targeted subsidy to 80million Pakistanis earning less than Rs40,000 for the next one year,” he added.
He once again reiterated that government has no plan to declare financial emergency. “After two increases in petrol prices, we are out of the financial crisis,” said Miftah Ismail.
It is appropriate to mention here that the federal government increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs60 per litre within a extent of a week after the IMF declined to release a US$1 billion tranche, demanding reversal of grants on fuel and electricity.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had proclaimed that the federal government has increased the prices of petroleum products with a heavy heart.
Shehbaz Sharif said his predecessor Imran Khan had set a trick for his government by declining the prices of petroleum products after evaluating that the no-confidence vote against him was going to succeed.