ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The government on Friday raised the price of high-speed diesel by Rs2.29 a litre to Rs402.96 and kept petrol unchanged at Rs377.91, for the period from Saturday, October 31, to Monday, November 2, according to a Petroleum Division notification.
It is the second day in a row that the petrol rate has been held, after the government raised both fuels earlier this week as oil climbed on Middle East supply fears. The government continues to collect about Rs114 a litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 on diesel.
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday to press for the petroleum levy to be scrapped. The two sides agreed to form a joint committee to consider widening the fuel relief scheme that has been offered since September 17 to owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and cars of up to 800cc. Rehman has said his party will march on Islamabad in mid-November if no major relief is announced.
Prices have been set by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority at short intervals since July, when the government moved to frequent revisions to track volatile international markets after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28. Diesel peaked at Rs520.35 and petrol at Rs458.41 on April 3, up from about Rs281 and Rs266 before the conflict.
The government has also reintroduced austerity measures, requiring markets to close by 9pm and cutting fuel allocations for official vehicles by half for three months. Diesel price changes ripple through the economy because the fuel powers heavy transport, power plants and large generators, while petrol mainly affects private cars, rickshaws and motorcycles.
