ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik hinted on Tuesday at another cut in petrol and diesel prices, saying “even better news will come before us”, and promised that the government would make its “utmost efforts” to keep gas flowing this winter as LPG sells for up to Rs800 a kilogram.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Malik recalled the latest reduction and noted that international markets had closed lower. He made the remark ahead of the day’s revision of fuel prices.
He said some people were trying to exploit the LPG shortage after supply “dried up on our western border”, with consumers being offered it at Rs700 to Rs800 a kilogram. Imports from Iran have been disrupted since two crossings closed on October 17, and rickshaw drivers who run on LPG say they are struggling to feed their families.
For the coldest months, Malik said the government would try to ensure piped gas for the timings of three daily meals. “From December and January, your winter will be at its peak, and at that time, even if the most expensive fuel has to be purchased for the piped network, we will bring it in and try to meet demand through LNG,” he said. LPG would still be needed by those without a piped connection, he added.
He also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had chaired a meeting on the matter on Tuesday, and was leading an effort to rebuild what he called the country’s energy security architecture from scratch.
“The war may certainly have caught us in its crossfire from elsewhere, but regarding our capacity to deal with these challenges meant we had to set our own house in order,” he said. “We neither worked on storages, nor on refineries, nor on the LPG chain.”
