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Ishaq Dar's (non?) performance watch as Finance Minister

I favored a higher petrol price when PTI was in power, and I will also support it when PDM is in charge. However their was non stop "Petrol Bomb" attacks on PTI when the price was far lower. Those have been greatly reduced in the media. And while I did not expect any better, the usual suspects attacking PTI for raising prices are also silent.
 
Hextro said:
PDM supporters complained 27/7 that PTI has made fuel unaffordable for people, where are those supporters now? Ah yes I remember, international prices are sky high which forced these incompetent criminals to increase prices. Were the prices not sky high when PTI was in power?

Rs 233.8 is the highest petrol price in the history of Pakistan and the last price was also the highest in Pakistan's history. There'll probably be another 2 price hikes within the next few months because the IMF wants the government to generate a lot of tax revenue from fuel.

During the last 20 days in Pakistan, petrol price has increased by Rs 84 per liter while Diesel price has increased by Rs 115 per liter.
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What they wanted was the IMF to bail them out without making any reforms. And they would use the bail out money to launch projects to win the next election. Unfortunately for them IMF is being strict on Pakistan now. Will be very difficult for them to win the next election now.
 
Hopefully India is able to maintain inflation somewhat with those oil prices.
 
The irony is that Pakistan is one of the biggest destinations of "smuggled" oil from Iran. The powerful elite of this country really hates the ordinary folk but the populace continues to mindlessly cheer the elite when they are handed some rotten scraps and wag their tails in total submission as a token of gratitude.
 
Rs. 233/- for a 20 yr old 800cc car, or Rs. 233/- per lire for an old chamber suzuki is plain cruelty this will have a devastating effect on common man;s pocket
 
Kianig89 said:
Rs. 233/- for a 20 yr old 800cc car, or Rs. 233/- per lire for an old chamber suzuki is plain cruelty this will have a devastating effect on common man;s pocket
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I am hearing reports that the middle class and upper middle class have started car pooling with their co workers, relying on public transport, cycling and walking but they have either parked their cars or are only taking them out if unavoidable and absolutely necessary because the cost of filling up tanks is just unaffordable for the monthly salaried person now. Scary times
 
A day after fuel prices were increased for the third time in as many weeks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday defended the unpopular moves, saying that the government was "left with no choice" because of "those who struck the worst ever deal" with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced an increase in the prices of petroleum products by another Rs24 in an attempt to trim the fiscal deficit and secure critical support from the IMF. Cumulatively, the government has raised petrol prices by Rs84 since May 26, effectively ending the subsidy that the PTI government put in place in February.

The coalition government has, time and again, blamed former prime minister Imran Khan for devising policies that "damaged" the national economy. In his press conference yesterday, Ismail claimed that the PTI government never provided the people with relief when it came to staples such as wheat and pulses during its tenure but chose to reduce oil and petrol prices when it realised that the no-confidence motion would be successful.

In a tweet Thursday morning, the premier admitted that he was aware of the impact that a fuel price hike caused. "Govt is left with no choice but to raise the prices due to IMF deal that PTI govt signed," he said, promising that he would take nation into confidence on the specifics of PTI-IMF deal soon.

"I wonder whether those who struck the worst ever deal with IMF & took patently bad economic decisions have the conscience to face the truth," PM Shehbaz continued. "How can they pretend to be innocent when what the nation is going through is clearly their doing? Details soon."

He further expressed the resolve that Pakistan would get out of these economic difficulties soon.

PTI calls hike 'midnight robbery'
Meanwhile, PTI leaders rejected the price hike and accused the government of being "a hypocrite".

Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin warned that the price hike would push inflation "over 30 per cent" and would "crush" middle to lower income groups.

PTI General Secretary Asad Umar likened the "imported government" to "robbers ". "Just like robbers enter a house in the dark of night, the imported government too plunders the pockets of the petrol via petrol and diesel prices in the dark of night."

Ex-minister Farrukh Habib described the petrol price hike as a "suicide attack" on the people of Pakistan.

"This imported government is not buying petrol from Russia, the cost of which is being paid by the public," he added.

Habib's party leader Imran Khan, has on multiple occasions claimed that Pakistan was poised to purchase discounted oil from Russia but his government was forced out in the vote of no confidence. He has praised India's "independent foreign policy" for buying Russian crude.

The current government insists there was no such agreement in the works.

Meanwhile, senator Faisal Javed stressed on the need to reach out to the public. "It seems as if this is the last month of the incumbent government."

Elections, he continued, have become inevitable now. "To protect (the country) from inflation and destruction, it is important to reach out to the public. Inflation can only be controlled when a government, which has full confidence from the people, is elected. Immediately dissolve assembles, call fresh elections and see how economic indicators improve," Javed suggested.

Former energy minister Hammad Azhar, on the other hand, said that price hike has highlighted the importance of an independent foreign policy in front of everyone.

"Russia is supplying cheap oil to dozens of independent countries but we went to the beggar's ventilator."

https://www.dawn.com/news/1695110/g...az-shifts-blame-on-pti-for-petrol-price-hikes
 
Savak said:
I am hearing reports that the middle class and upper middle class have started car pooling with their co workers, relying on public transport, cycling and walking but they have either parked their cars or are only taking them out if unavoidable and absolutely necessary because the cost of filling up tanks is just unaffordable for the monthly salaried person now. Scary times
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Not necessarily a bad thing. People should also realize the economic reality of the country & how their reckless consumption of oil & gas was being masked by the endless subsidies given by the government. Now that every cover is stripped off, everybody will start contributing to reduce energy imports.
 
dildilpak said:
Not necessarily a bad thing. People should also realize the economic reality of the country & how their reckless consumption of oil & gas was being masked by the endless subsidies given by the government. Now that every cover is stripped off, everybody will start contributing to reduce energy imports.
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Exactly.
 
How about the so called protocol where one neutral travels with 6 cars having 2 per each , surely ain't this waste of fuel if austerity is adopted then it should be in true spirits hopefully IK protest call on Sunday may turn fruitful everybody should leave their car on Kashmir Highway for Protest
 
ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has announced a countrywide protest on Sunday against rising inflation and hike in prices of petroleum products, ARY News reported on Thursday.

In a video message, the former premier has called on the people of Pakistan to hold a countrywide protest on Sunday at 9 pm against the ‘rising inflation’ and petrol price hike

“Everyone has to come out against this imported government, otherwise inflation will further increase,” Imran Khan said, adding that he will address the protestors at 10 pm.

The PTI chairman further said that he will announce a plan of action for the future. “As a nation, we have to raise our voice against the rising inflation and this imported government, he added.

The former premier reiterated that the no-confidence motion was brought against him with the help of the US. “Our people became turncoats and our allies left us,” Imran Khan

Speaking about inflation, the PTI chairman pointed out that every other political party staged protests during his tenure against inflation. “These people were used to criticised us for rising inflation and incompetence,” he noted.

“During our three-and-a-half-year tenure, the petrol price increased by Rs50 only and was being sold at Rs150 per litre. We had given a subsidy of Rs200 billion on oil prices”, he added,

Imran Khan said, “We were also asked by International Monetary Fund (IMF) to end subsidies, but we provided relief to the people from rising inflation.”

He noted that the incumbent government has so far increased the price of petrol by Rs 85 in just two months. “We had kept diesel prices lower deliberately in our tenure and was being sold at Rs145 per liter,” Imran Khan added.

“When diesel prices increase all transport becomes more expensive”, he said, pointing out that farmers usually face more problems due to the increase in diesel prices.

Speaking about the new prime minister, Imran alleged that Shehbaz had taken over the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency in a bid to drop corruption cases against him. He added that the money laundering case against Shehbaz was an “open and shut [case] which should have been decided a year ago”.

ARY
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On Sunday 9pm we must all come out to protest this unprecedented rise in energy prices that will cause hardship across the board affecting all sections of society esp labourers, safedposh, farmers & salaried class. <a href="https://t.co/YHCmneY8sc">pic.twitter.com/YHCmneY8sc</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1537491248566525953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sadly another wave of inflation is coming as Rupee devalues further - has fallen 15% (Rs 30) to the dollar since Imported govt of crooks came to power through US regime change conspiracy.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1537491251305807874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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dildilpak said:
Not necessarily a bad thing. People should also realize the economic reality of the country & how their reckless consumption of oil & gas was being masked by the endless subsidies given by the government. Now that every cover is stripped off, everybody will start contributing to reduce energy imports.
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In the same way Us govn should had allowed all business(esp Airlines) to fail and not take tax payers money releasing the inflation snowball?

Why were they bailed out using tax payers money? Why does the debt ceiling keep getting raised? Let it default and people can feel what they have been used to?
 
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When a couple of Rp increases brought crooked Nani, selected Billlo and the lifafas to create a crisis, I wonder what they are saying and writing today when these guys are hammering the poor country with double digit increases every few days.
 
I think we must note these are global economic headwinds that aren't unique to Pakistan. Inflation is soaring due to global energy price increases (exacerbated by the war in Ukraine), supply chain bottlenecks (not helped by Chinese factories being shuttered by localised Covid outbreaks) and pentup demand.

Nevertheless, various governments have failed to tackle Pakistan's long-term economic weaknesses from a heavy reliance on imports and a weak export sector, dependence on fossil fuels, loss-making state enterprises and a small tax base, leaving it in an acutely vulnerable position.

mazkhan said:
There are alternatives its called cips and spfs

But that would mean the elite being sanctioned , their yashian in west finished and losing their assets abroad.

So country will always be held hostage by the elite and the slave drivers the barons of textile industry which runs the modern equivalent of cotton plantations and cheap labour to produce cheap products and export to the eu. Alongwith another of our main exports which is human slaves to work in the middleast basically the modern form of human trafficking and slavery modern equivalent of how Africans were taken over the Atlantic to serve masters economy and toil in the sun. That's what out country is underwear weavers and humans sent to gcc to work in 50 Celsius sun and have their passports held by some sheikh .
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mazkhan said:
The crooks are gonna push us back to grandads days like how the old people lived wearing lungis and no shoes in pinds foraging for food from trees bushes and drinking water from ponds.
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mazkhan said:
Showbaaza wants people to adopt simplicity so that's stale roti , maybe with an onion or water boiled with a pinch of chilli powder and to travel around on a donkey and then feed it a turnip and burn its crap as fuel .
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:)) mazkhan I love your posts.
 
JaDed said:
In the same way Us govn should had allowed all business(esp Airlines) to fail and not take tax payers money releasing the inflation snowball?

Why were they bailed out using tax payers money? Why does the debt ceiling keep getting raised? Let it default and people can feel what they have been used to?
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A one time bailout event is different from a country approaching IMF 23rd time for a bailout (yes, let that sink in - its really 23!). It just means that Pakistan has perpetually lived beyond its means & needs to understand its economic reality. Giving perpetual subsidies & artificially propping up the economy is not going to cut it anymore - unfortunately, people will need to feel the pain of austerity to bring down those crazy fiscal deficits.
 
dildilpak said:
A one time bailout event is different from a country approaching IMF 23rd time for a bailout (yes, let that sink in - its really 23!). It just means that Pakistan has perpetually lived beyond its means & needs to understand its economic reality. Giving perpetual subsidies & artificially propping up the economy is not going to cut it anymore - unfortunately, people will need to feel the pain of austerity to bring down those crazy fiscal deficits.
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Economy was made to prop up in US too for last 2 years, I support US systems but it feels like a misconception that US doesn’t bail out, if anything it bails out companies often banks in 2008, airlines etc 2020.

It has a habit of doing so, Cali subsidized Electric vehicles probably because they thought it will be financially viable for climate.

If South Asia subsidizes oil it’s because we have extreme poverty there, the inflation will kill many.
Irrespective I agree on default and no subsidies but western nation do it as well and yet expect Asian and African nations to listen to them.
 
JaDed said:
Economy was made to prop up in US too for last 2 years, I support US systems but it feels like a misconception that US doesn’t bail out, if anything it bails out companies often banks in 2008, airlines etc 2020.

It has a habit of doing so, Cali subsidized Electric vehicles probably because they thought it will be financially viable for climate.

If South Asia subsidizes oil it’s because we have extreme poverty there, the inflation will kill many.
Irrespective I agree on default and no subsidies but western nation do it as well and yet expect Asian and African nations to listen to them.
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The US economy was propped up last 2 years- what?? The economy here was extremely strong last couple of years, the job markets were at alltime high, housing market was strong & so were other markers. Yes, the airline might have suffered during the pandemic but now they are almost back at full levels. Like others the only thing bothering us right now is the inflation, but now with the rate increases all the FI money which was earlier in emerging markets will flow back to the US.

Neither am I against targeted bailouts or subsidies like the EVs or solar panels , but a whole economy sustained on bailout money for decades is just not feasible. From calamity comes opportunity - the people will have to face pains & problems to change their consumption patterns & increase export opportunities. Long term bailouts only mask the ailments, they dont cure it.
 
So that was the only plan by the so called experienced team, to increase the petrol prices every weekend, factories being closed
 
Markhor said:
I think we must note these are global economic headwinds that aren't unique to Pakistan. Inflation is soaring due to global energy price increases (exacerbated by the war in Ukraine), supply chain bottlenecks (not helped by Chinese factories being shuttered by localised Covid outbreaks) and pentup demand.

Nevertheless, various governments have failed to tackle Pakistan's long-term economic weaknesses from a heavy reliance on imports and a weak export sector, dependence on fossil fuels, loss-making state enterprises and a small tax base, leaving it in an acutely vulnerable position.







:)) mazkhan I love your posts.
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You are right about global crises etc but the people making these decisions had no thought about this when they were criticizing Imran. The hypocrisy is the issue here.
 
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said his government had served as a shield against international price hike and protected people from its effects.

“I had warned that the economy would suffer badly and go out of control if any attempt was made to topple the PTI government,” Mr Khan said while presiding over a meeting of the party spokespersons.

The meeting discussed issues related to economy and difficulties being faced by citizens due to rising inflation.

The former prime minister announced that the PTI would hold countrywide protests against price hike and continuous increase in the cost of petroleum products, electricity and gas on Sunday (today).

“Looters have increased prices just to fill their pockets and have left people to suffer. Those who had made properties abroad are not concerned about the citizens and their future,” Mr Khan said.

He said during the last two months it had become evident how the conspiracy was hatched against Pakistan and who were the characters behind it.

“Those who had come into power were not prepared and now institutions were on the verge of collapse,” he added.

Meanwhile, participants in the meeting said friendly countries as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave no value to the current setup because they knew that it did not enjoy public support and credibility.

They condemned the government’s tactics to curb freedom of expression, especially harassment of citizens on social media.

They also showed concern over the lacklustre response of the public in the recently-held by-poll in Karachi and the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold free, fair and peaceful election.

The meeting was perturbed over the government’s decision to make a whopping Rs21 billion cut in the budget of the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as at reports that five million people from these areas had been deprived of health cards provided by the PTI.

The participants warned that any attempt to roll back the integration of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) would be resisted.

Protest against price hike

Imran Khan urged the masses to come out of their houses and participate in the anti-inflation protests and decide the future course of action together.

The protests will be held at 9pm and the PTI chairman will address the protesters as well as the nation at around 10pm during which he will announce the next line of action.

The former prime minister came down hard on the present government, alleging that crooks and looters had nothing to do with public welfare.

“They had mortgaged the country to fill their coffers,” he added.

On the other hand, PTI’s senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry, in a video message, asked people to participate in the demonstrations.

“In Multan, the protest will be held at Chowk Shah Abbas, whereas in Karachi it will be staged at Shahrah-i-Qaideen, Liberty Chowk in Lahore, Ghanta Ghar in Faisalabad and at Commercial Market in Rawalpindi,” Mr Chaudhry said, adding that protests would also be held at Peshawar’s Hashtnagri Gate and Islamabad’s F-9 Park.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2022
 
ISLAMABAD: In a breakthrough, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday night reached an understanding on the federal budget for 2022-23, leading to revival of the extended fund facility (EFF) after authorities committed to generate Rs436 billion more taxes and increase petroleum levy gradually up to Rs50 per litre.

Acknowledging that important progress has been made over the FY23 budget, IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan, Esther Perez Ruiz told Dawn: "Discussions between the IMF staff and the authorities on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year continue."

The understanding was reached during a meeting, held via video link, between the IMF staff mission and the Pakistani economic team, led by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

The IMF mission will finalise monetary targets with the State Bank over the next couple of days and, in the meantime, share the draft of a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy (MEFP).

The MEFP would also contain certain prior actions that would be necessary for implementation before the IMF board takes up Pakistan’s case for approval and the subsequent disbursement of about $1bn next month.

“We have now locked the budget in consultation with the IMF,” Finance Minister Ismail told journalists, adding that all budget-related issues had been settled with the Fund.

The IMF is also expected to issue a statement confirming substantial progress on the fiscal framework, the two sides agreed. Top government sources said that to win over the IMF mission, the Pakistani side had agreed to start charging on all POL products a petroleum development levy which will be gradually increased by Rs5 per month to reach a maximum of Rs50.

In yet another retreat, the government also agreed to impose 1pc poverty tax on firms earning Rs150 million, 2pc on those earning Rs200m, 3pc on over Rs250m and 4pc on Rs300m above. In the original budget, the government had set a 2pc poverty tax only on those earning Rs300m and above.

The government also agreed to do away with provisions for additional salaries and pensions, for which Rs200bn had been set aside as block allocation. Instead, a separate allocation of contingencies had been made but that would be strictly meant for emergencies likes floods and earthquake so that amount remains unspent.

Pakistan also committed to deliver a Rs152bn primary budget surplus, which means the revenues would finance all expenditures — other than interest payments — and still leave Rs152bn surplus in the national kitty.

The sources said the IMF team will now finalise targets for net international reserves and net domestic assets, but everything on part of the agreement had been settled. The IMF team would share its draft MEFP with the government on Friday, sources said.

Upward revision of tax collection target

The coalition government has agreed to revise upward the annual tax collection target by almost Rs422bn for the year 2022-23 by taking additional tax measures, in a bid to placate the technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We have taken tangible additional tax measures without adding to the tax burden of the poor”, well-placed sources in the finance ministry told Dawn. The additional tax measures will be announced in the final budget speech by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

Sources said that the additional measures will only hit the affluent class.

Although the coalition government shied away from unpopular tax measures for fear of political backlash in its first budget and pinned its hopes on achieving maximum revenue from higher than expected inflation and economic growth, the low revenue target did not go down well with the IMF, which asked Islamabad to take additional measures to make the revenue collection target more realistic.

The Fund’s preliminary estimates that additional measures will be needed were conveyed to the finance ministry soon after the announcement of the budget.

Official sources told Dawn that a formal agreement has been reached following FBR assent to revise its annual collection target from Rs7004 billion to Rs7426billion for the year 2022-23. This increase has all but cleared way for the resumption of the IMF programme, sources said.

One of the major decisions, according to insiders, was to increase tax rates in higher slabs for those earning higher salaries. As of today, the exemption up to Rs1.2 million will remain intact, sources said.

The calculations of the finance ministry regarding tax measures especially revenue that will come from inflation was very on a lower side. Finance ministry projects inflation at 11.5pc while the FBR projections show it at 12.8pc. However, the impact of higher inflation on revenue collection will be much more, as per new estimates.

In the budget, the FBR revenue base was projected at Rs5.818 trillion for the year 2021-22, which is now estimated will be around Rs6.1 trillion. This improvement in the base figures will also help FBR to achieve the revised revenue target.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022
 
MenInG said:
ISLAMABAD: In a breakthrough, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday night reached an understanding on the federal budget for 2022-23, leading to revival of the extended fund facility (EFF) after authorities committed to generate Rs436 billion more taxes and increase petroleum levy gradually up to Rs50 per litre.

Acknowledging that important progress has been made over the FY23 budget, IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan, Esther Perez Ruiz told Dawn: "Discussions between the IMF staff and the authorities on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year continue."

The understanding was reached during a meeting, held via video link, between the IMF staff mission and the Pakistani economic team, led by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

The IMF mission will finalise monetary targets with the State Bank over the next couple of days and, in the meantime, share the draft of a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy (MEFP).

The MEFP would also contain certain prior actions that would be necessary for implementation before the IMF board takes up Pakistan’s case for approval and the subsequent disbursement of about $1bn next month.

“We have now locked the budget in consultation with the IMF,” Finance Minister Ismail told journalists, adding that all budget-related issues had been settled with the Fund.

The IMF is also expected to issue a statement confirming substantial progress on the fiscal framework, the two sides agreed. Top government sources said that to win over the IMF mission, the Pakistani side had agreed to start charging on all POL products a petroleum development levy which will be gradually increased by Rs5 per month to reach a maximum of Rs50.

In yet another retreat, the government also agreed to impose 1pc poverty tax on firms earning Rs150 million, 2pc on those earning Rs200m, 3pc on over Rs250m and 4pc on Rs300m above. In the original budget, the government had set a 2pc poverty tax only on those earning Rs300m and above.

The government also agreed to do away with provisions for additional salaries and pensions, for which Rs200bn had been set aside as block allocation. Instead, a separate allocation of contingencies had been made but that would be strictly meant for emergencies likes floods and earthquake so that amount remains unspent.

Pakistan also committed to deliver a Rs152bn primary budget surplus, which means the revenues would finance all expenditures — other than interest payments — and still leave Rs152bn surplus in the national kitty.

The sources said the IMF team will now finalise targets for net international reserves and net domestic assets, but everything on part of the agreement had been settled. The IMF team would share its draft MEFP with the government on Friday, sources said.

Upward revision of tax collection target

The coalition government has agreed to revise upward the annual tax collection target by almost Rs422bn for the year 2022-23 by taking additional tax measures, in a bid to placate the technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We have taken tangible additional tax measures without adding to the tax burden of the poor”, well-placed sources in the finance ministry told Dawn. The additional tax measures will be announced in the final budget speech by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

Sources said that the additional measures will only hit the affluent class.

Although the coalition government shied away from unpopular tax measures for fear of political backlash in its first budget and pinned its hopes on achieving maximum revenue from higher than expected inflation and economic growth, the low revenue target did not go down well with the IMF, which asked Islamabad to take additional measures to make the revenue collection target more realistic.

The Fund’s preliminary estimates that additional measures will be needed were conveyed to the finance ministry soon after the announcement of the budget.

Official sources told Dawn that a formal agreement has been reached following FBR assent to revise its annual collection target from Rs7004 billion to Rs7426billion for the year 2022-23. This increase has all but cleared way for the resumption of the IMF programme, sources said.

One of the major decisions, according to insiders, was to increase tax rates in higher slabs for those earning higher salaries. As of today, the exemption up to Rs1.2 million will remain intact, sources said.

The calculations of the finance ministry regarding tax measures especially revenue that will come from inflation was very on a lower side. Finance ministry projects inflation at 11.5pc while the FBR projections show it at 12.8pc. However, the impact of higher inflation on revenue collection will be much more, as per new estimates.

In the budget, the FBR revenue base was projected at Rs5.818 trillion for the year 2021-22, which is now estimated will be around Rs6.1 trillion. This improvement in the base figures will also help FBR to achieve the revised revenue target.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022
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lol
Let the looting begin!
Let’s see how quickly the PDM members run out of this money and run to IMF again with a begging bowl and an agreement to inflict more inflation on the Pakistani nation. Good job!
 
The government on Thursday announced a hike of Rs14.85 per litre in the price of petrol, the fourth such raise in the last 35 days, taking the cumulative amount of all hikes since May 26 to nearly Rs100.

According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, petrol will now be priced at Rs248.74 after the latest hike, followed by high speed diesel at Rs276.54, kerosene oil at Rs230.26 and light diesel at Rs226.15.

The new prices will come into effect from midnight tonight.

The notification said in view of the fluctuations in prices in the international market and exchange rate variation, "the government has decided to partially apply the petroleum levy and revise the existing prices of petroleum products as agreed with the development partners."

As per the notification, Rs10 petroleum levy has been applied on petrol and Rs5 each on high speed diesel, kerosene oil and light diesel.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad soon after the price hike notification issued by the Finance Division, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Pakistan had received a Memorandum of Economic and Fiscal Policies (MEFP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had some prior actions.

"One of the prior actions required us to revive the programme and raise petroleum development levy, but the PTI reneged on its accord with IMF at the end of February," the minister said.

Ismail said the government had to apply Rs10 PDL on petrol and Rs5 on diesel.

He said the country suffered a loss of Rs233 billion during the tenure of the previous government, adding that "Rs30 levy should have been imposed on petrol as per the agreement signed by the PTI with the IMF."

He, however, added the government did not impose any taxes to provide relief to the masses.

Minister of State for Petroleum Musadiq Malik said the government had to take tough decisions to steer the country out of the crisis.

"The next four to five months will be tough but things will start to normalise after it in terms of price hike," Malik told journalists.

Since coming to power in April, the PML-N-led coalition government had first raised the petrol price by Rs30 on May 26, followed by another increase of Rs30 on June 2 and nearly after a fortnight on June 15, it hiked the fuel price by another Rs24.

According to a Dawn report, the government, under the structural benchmarks, will start imposing the PDL from July 1 (Friday) at the rate of Rs10 per litre on all products, except Rs5 per litre on high-speed diesel. The levy would then keep going up at the rate of Rs5 per month to a maximum of Rs50.

Pakistan had on Tuesday received the MEFP from the IMF for the combined seventh and eighth reviews of its $6 billion loan programme, which has been stalled since April.

The MEFP contains certain prior actions that would be necessary for implementation before the IMF board takes up Pakistan’s case for approval and the subsequent disbursement of funds.

According to the MEFP, Pakistan will have to take at least two more “prior actions” to secure the two combined tranches by the end of July or early August. The prior actions include the passage of the federal budget as agreed to with the IMF and presented in the National Assembly on June 24 and present a memorandum of understanding duly signed by the provincial governments to jointly provide about Rs750bn cash surplus to the centre.

In all probability, two tranches of about $918 million each (or $687m Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs) would be made available to Pakistan at once in the last week of July of the first week of August, Dawn reported officials as said.

DAWN
 
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led (PML-N) government has announced to constitute a commission to probe the "mismanagement" by the Imran Khan's regime that "worsened the energy crisis".

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and PML-N senior vice-president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced the decision while addressing a presser in Islamabad on Thursday, saying the commission will be formed on the directives by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Speaking on the occasion, Abbasi said that the basic purpose of the commission would be to bring forth the flawed decisions in the petroleum sector that have led to the prevailing energy crisis.

Its purpose, he added, is also to expose the corruption during the tenure of the PTI government.

He added that the body would also help bring forth details of the increase in circular debt and the additional borrowing.

The PML-N stalwart further said that the flawed decisions made by the Imran-led Cabinet had caused billions of losses to the country.

According to him, the proceedings of the commission will be open to the people and the media.

“The government has taken the reins of power two months ago,” he said. “The circumstances in which we took power were identified in November and December last year.”

He also said that the public was perturbed because of the power loadshedding, stressing that a probe was necessary to determine the causes of the crisis.

Expressing his views, Ahsan Iqbal asserted that the ineligibility of the PTI-led government was the reason behind the prevailing energy crisis.

Regarding the economic conditions, the planning minister vowed to make the economy stable “within days”.

The development comes two days after opposition parliamentarians in the National Assembly fired a broadside at the government over the ongoing energy crisis.

The lawmakers took the ruling party to task for the power and gas outages across the country as well as the increase in the tariffs.

They had also pointed out that power theft was not possible without the involvement of the staff of the power and gas companies, saying losses due to the corruption are transferred to the people.

Express Tribune
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Instead of buying cheaper oil from Russia Imported govt, brought in by US regime change conspiracy, continues to put unbearable burden on people while giving themselves NRO2 worth Rs 1100 bn. Total increase Rs 99 for petrol, Rs 133 for diesel. Join our protest ag this tomorrow. <a href="https://t.co/JnXIbtkAUx">pic.twitter.com/JnXIbtkAUx</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1542730407917002752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Last edited:
The government on Friday said the energy prices will keep increasing for the next three to four months because of ‘landmines laid by Imran Khan’ and then start a downward trend in November–December this year.

Speaking at separate news conferences here, energy ministers – Khurram Dastgir and Musadik Malik – on Friday said the previous government had tied their hands with legal compulsions for price and there was no way out of the quagmire to provide upfront relief to the people before the completion of corrective reforms.

Both ministers said the PTI government kept delaying price adjustments for electricity and natural gas these became due after tariff determinations from the regulators and changed laws before leaving to ensure the new government was left with no choice but to clear the backlog.

Also, they did not arrange LNG, coal and furnace oil imports when their prices were at their lowest and the international lenders like the World Bank and IMF were providing cheaper and unconditional loans to sustain Covid shock. Not only these fuel prices had increased by 300 to 400pc by the time the new government came in, but these commodities were unavailable in the market at any price. “They (PTI) laid traps for us”, said Mr Malik.

Blame PTI govt for not timely arranging fuels for power generation

He said the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) was regularly coming with its determinations for gas price hikes but the PTI government did not notify it for more than three years. But at the last leg of its period, it changed the law under which a coming government could not hold on to Ogra’s determination that automatically stand notified after 40 days. “They enjoyed legal powers to decide about gas prices but withdrew these powers from the purview of subsequent governments to do so. This was another trap”, he said.

In the meanwhile, a yet-to-be-constituted commission would investigate why the situation reached this stage and what steps should be put in place so that such devastation was not repeated in the future. Also, the government would come up with schemes over the next couple of months to ensure maximum utilisation of solar energy to the extent of 5,000-6,000mw in the residential sector and provide relief to the people.

Power Minister Khurram Dastigir Khan said the power tariff rebasing was last done 17 months ago. During this period the inflation rate increased manifold but its impact was not reflected in base tariff. He said an investigation commission would examine how pressure was put on the regulator that quarterly tariff adjustments were delayed for so long which has now accumulated to be Rs7.90 per unit increase.

Mr Khan said his ministry had asked the federal cabinet to pass it on to the consumers in three installments between now and October this year. The cabinet has not yet taken a final decision as it also has to approve a part of the subsidy to protect the consumers in the lowest slabs. “This (increase in tariff) will be done in the next three months. It is expected the power tariff would then start declining in November-December”, he said.

The power minister said the country’s power demand had gone beyond 30,000MW on Thursday against a power supply of about 21,842MW while economically manageable capacity was no more than 25,000MW. He said the distribution companies faced about 6,000MW a shortfall on Thursday.

He said despite unavoidable loadshedding to domestic consumers, consistent and uninterrupted electricity was being supplied to the industrial sector to protect the employment of thousands of Pakistanis. He said the shortage was because of three factors including Imran’s enmity towards CPEC, misuse of NAB, unprecedented heat wave in April and unabated fuel (coal, gas and oil) prices hike in the international market.

He said power demand witnessed 30pc increase as compared to last year during the said period despite increasing 20pc generation this year.

Musadik Malik said the government would soon offer attractive incentives and a working environment to local and international companies to exploit indigenous hydrocarbon resources and move towards self-reliance in the energy sector because output was on a decline by 10pc annually and required new and cheaper technologies to upscale tight gas.

“We will not allow a monopoly to a couple of faces in every field and instead create competition for LNG terminals and private import and sale of LNG by improving incentives and ease of doing business”, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2022
 
Petroleum dealers threaten shutting down stations in protest

The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Sunday announced that it will be going on a nationwide strike as of July 18, shutting down petrol stations all over the country, in the wake of rising oil prices.

The PPDA chairman Abdul Sami Khan, in a statement, said that it was not possible to continue petroleum sales at the current rate. He announced that petrol pumps will remain closed following July 18 until the margin on petroleum products is increased.

The statement was issued after an emergency meeting was called by the PPDA where it was decided that a minimum commission margin of six per cent was required for the stations to continue operating.

The officials lamented that the current margin of 3.5 per cent was not sustainable.

Yesterday, it was also reported that the demand for petrol and diesel had dropped 12% and 16% respectively in June 2022 compared to the previous month, snapping a long uptrend in sales of petroleum products in the wake of the withdrawal of subsidies and imposition of taxes.

Last year in November, the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had given in to the association's demands after a nationwide strike. However, instead of meeting the PPDA's demand of six per cent margin – approximately Rs5 per litre on petrol, it was decided that the margin on petrol will be increased by 99 paisas per litre and 83 paisas per litre on high-speed diesel (HSD). Similarly, the margin on HSD was increased to Rs4.13 per litre from the current Rs3.30.

It may be noted that in June this year, a major oil industry lobby had warned of an impending breakdown in the energy supply chain as companies are facing a financial crisis following the refusal of international banks to accept Letters of Credit (LCs) opened by Pakistani banks.

In an SOS call, Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) Chairman Waqar Irshad Siddiqui revealed that the oil industry had come under a financial strain, raising the spectre of breakdown in the country’s energy supply chain.

Furthermore, on June 30, the coalition government dropped another oil bomb as it increased the prices by up to Rs18.83 per litre on account of the petroleum levy on these products.

Earlier, the government had been charging zero petroleum levy and general sales tax on petroleum products to absorb the impact of the hike in global oil prices and depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2364478/petroleum-dealers-threaten-shutting-down-stations-in-protest
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The nation continues to suffer crushing economic cost of Imported Govt brought in thru US regime change conspiracy at a time when our govt had stabilised the economy. Exports, which stagnated in previous PMLN Govt at $25 bn, crossed $30 bn for the first time this yr to $31.76 bn</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1544274022413770752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was despite the sharp slow down after regime change conspiracy operationalised. In July '21-March '22, under PTI Govt exports grew 27%. In June under cabal of crooks export growth slowed to 5.8%. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%BE%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%B9%DA%88_%D8%AD%DA%A9%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AA_%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%88%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1544274025450455040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In view of the decline in global oil prices, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has said that his father Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will soon announce reduction in prices of petroleum products.

He made these remarks on Sunday while speaking to PML-N workers at Sharif family’s Jati Umra residence after Eidul Azha prayer, Express News reported.

CM Hamza’s statement came days after he announced the free electricity scheme for lifeline consumers, which was suspended by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) until July 17 — the date for by-polls for 20 vacant seats of the provincial assembly.

In today’s media interaction, Hamza said his government’s free electricity scheme will benefit 55 million people of Punjab, who consume less than 100 units per month.

Hamza said that the federal government will give the good news to the masses by reducing the fuel prices in the coming days as global oil prices witnessed a decline lately.

CM Hamza said his party during its last stint in power had put the country on right path but the devastation caused during the four years of the previous PTI-led government “is indescribable as the economy had been ruined”.

Despite the prolonged constitutional crisis in Punjab, CM Hamza said that his government announced a subsidy of Rs200 billion to provide wheat flour at cheaper rates.

Taking a jibe at former prime minister Imran Khan, the Punjab chief minister said that “fitna [mischief] Khan” did not abide by the Constitution or the law and accused him of plundering nation’s wealth.

Express Tribune
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With the big drop in international prices the Imported govt must pass on the full benefit of the price reduction to the people who have been crushed by the unprecedented inflation unleashed by this cabal of crooks brought to power through US regime change conspiracy. <a href="https://t.co/5EyPraJr5V">pic.twitter.com/5EyPraJr5V</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1546936670162919424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I have ordered Ministries of Petroleum & Finance to pass on the reduction in the prices of POL products in the international market to people. They have faced economic difficulties & the relief is their right. With Allah's grace, we will continue to bring ease in their lives, IA.</p>— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1546904391067869184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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PM Shehbaz seeks summary to slash fuel prices

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sou*ght a summary from fina*nce and petroleum ministries to suggest a reduction in petroleum prices in the wake of falling global crude oil rates and a few days ahead of Punjab by-elections.

“I have ordered the ministries of petroleum and finance to pass on the reduction in the prices of POL [petroleum, oil and lubricant] products in the international market to people. They have faced economic difficulties and the relief is their right,” the premier tweeted late on Tuesday.

The decision, according to Information Minister Mar**r*iyum Aurangzeb, was made in a meeting chaired by the prime minister and att*ended by senior officials of the Oil and Gas Regula*tory Authority and other min*istries and departments.

According to Reuters, global benchmark Brent crude plunged $7 to below $100 a barrel on Tuesday on the back of a strengthening dollar, demand-sapping Covid-19 curbs in top crude importer China, and rising fears of a global economic slowdown.

A senior official of an oil marketing company told Dawn he expected a Rs15 and Rs30 per-litre decrease in petrol and high-speed diesel prices “if the government does not increase petroleum levy or impose GST on these fuels”.

“But these are these are tentative numbers and the prices will be clear by Wednesday (today) evening,” he said.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also said on Tuesday the summary to reduce petroleum prices would be forwarded to Prime Minister Sharif on Wednesday for necessary action.

“After receiving the summary from the petroleum division, we will try to send it to the PM House,” Mr Ismail told a private television channel, according to the state-run wire service APP.

The premier sincerely wanted to give the benefits of low petroleum prices in the international market to people without any delay, the finance minister said.

The PML-N-led coalition government has been increasing petroleum prices since the last week of May as it slashed fuel subsidies to unlock IMF funding.

The prices of petrol, high-speed diesel, kerosene and light diesel oil have skyrocketed 66pc (or Rs99), 92pc (Rs132.39), 95pc (Rs111.95) and 80pc (Rs100.59) since May 26, when the government introduced the first of a series of fuel price hikes.

Dawn
 
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday said the summary to reduce prices of petroleum products will be sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today for approval.

Radio Pakistan quoted the minister as telling a private TV channel that the prices would be slashed on the directives of the prime minister to provide relief to the people.

A day ago, PM Shehbaz had sought a summary from the ministries of finance and petroleum, carrying a proposal for reduction in prices of petroleum products in view of decreasing crude rates in the international market.

The premier had chaired a meeting yesterday and asked the ministries concerned to move a summary suggesting reduction in petroleum prices, saying "the government has decided to pass on benefit of reduced oil prices in international market to the consumers."

He had said the government would reduce oil prices transparently at par with the reduction in the international market, which according to the PM Office statement, was a "gift to people on the occasion of Eidul Azha".

The government had last announced a hike of Rs14.85 per litre in the price of petrol on June 30, the fourth such raise in the last 35 days, taking the cumulative amount of all hikes since May 26 to nearly Rs100.

DAWN
 
Prices might reduce but what about inflation will public transport fares be slashed will the vegetables chicken bread rates will also decrease highly unlikely
 
Petroleum dealers to go on nationwide strike on July 18
Petroleum dealers association demands increase in commission to 6%

KARACHI/LAHORE:
The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) announced on Thursday going on a nationwide strike on July 18, demanding the government increased the distributors' commission.

According to Express News, banners were hung at petrol pumps in Lahore regarding the dealer’s strike and demands. According to the general secretary of the PPDA, the minimum wage has been increased to Rs25,000.

Moreover, electricity prices have also surged whereas load-shedding hours have been extended, resulting in generator costs. Therefore, the PPDA demanded that the government increase their commission to 6% as promised.

Further hindering the distribution process has been the monsoon rains, which have inundated Karachi’s Keamari oil installation areas. The lack of a drainage system has brought the movement of oil tankers to a standstill.

According to All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) Chairman Mir Shams Shahwani, rain water is stagnant in Keamari, Korangi, and Port Qasim oil installation areas in Karachi. Reportedly, at least 6,000 oil tankers await filling, as rainwater is accumulated in oil terminals of 21 fuel importing companies.

No oil tankers have been filled since Sunday, July 10.

Supply affected

The chairman added that petroleum products' supply has been affected throughout the country due to the suspension of the filling process.

“These conditions could lead to a nationwide fuel crisis,” the chairman remarked, urging the federal and provincial governments to make arrangements for drainage on an emergency basis.

The PPDA had earlier warned of the nationwide strike, threatening to shut down petrol stations all over the country, in the wake of rising oil prices.

In a statement, the PPDA chairman Abdul Sami Khan said that it was not possible to continue petroleum sales at the current rate. He announced that petrol pumps will remain closed following July 18 until the margin on petroleum products is increased.

The statement was issued after an emergency meeting was called by the PPDA where it was decided that a minimum commission margin of six per cent was required for the stations to continue operating.

The officials lamented that the current margin of 3.5 per cent was not sustainable.

Express Tribune
 
The prices of petroleum products are estimated to decrease by up to Rs17-40 per litre for the next fortnight mai*nly because of lower international oil prices.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already announced early this week to reduce petroleum prices to pass on the benefit of lower crude prices to the people and had asked the Petroleum Division and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to put up a formal summary in the regard.

Likewise, the ex-depot price of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) would be cut by Rs30 and Rs32 per litre, respectively. The kerosene price would thus stand at about Rs200 per litre from Rs231 and that of LDO would be around Rs194 instead of Rs226 per litre.

Informed sources told Dawn that based on existing tax rates and import parity price, the ex-depot price of petrol would be down by Rs17 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by about Rs40.

DAWN
 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his address to the nation on Thursday, announced that the price of petrol was being cut by Rs18.50 and diesel by Rs40.54.
 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his address to the nation on Thursday, announced that the price of petrol was being cut by Rs18.50 and diesel by Rs40.54.

The prime minister began his speech by explaining that he had inherited a "troubled economy" from the previous government. "The previous government trampled on the agreement it had with the IMF and laid landmines for us," he said.

PM Shehbaz said the PTI government, during its final few weeks, had slashed fuel prices even though the government's coffers were empty. "This was done so our govt would fall into difficulties."


He explained why his government had to increase petrol prices after taking over. "With a heavy heart, and due to rising oil prices in international markets, we increased prices."

The prime minister acknowledged that the decision had burdened the underprivileged segment of the society. "We had no other way. We had to take tough measures."

"However, today with God's blessing, oil prices are declining in global markets and it is by his mercy that today we have got the chance to reduce the prices," he added.

PM Shehbaz indicated that the benefit of any further decline in global oil price will also be passed to the public.

DAWN
 
And what about flour milk edible oil 🛢 sugar etc etc which skyrocketed due to petrol prices another gimmicky by the thugs
 
Bound to increase electricity prices: Miftah
We will not breach the IMF agreement as it was done by the PTI government, says Miftah Ismail

ISLAMABAD: Ruling out the possibility of breaching the IMF agreement, Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail on Wednesday shared an ambitious plan to generate $11 billion, including sale of two RLNG-based power plants to a friendly country.

Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail declared: “We will not breach the IMF agreement as it was done by the PTI government by violating the Fund agreement in last February 2022 through provision of unfunded subsidies. We will implement each and every prior action agreed with the IMF, including collection of Petroleum Levy. We will raise external financing of over $11 billion through friendly countries by selling out RLNG-based power plants to one friendly country through government to government (G2G) transaction.”

While sharing his ambitious plan, he said that the government would generate $11 billion with the help of friendly countries through transfer of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), cash deposits, oil and gas import on deferred payments and government to government (G2G) transactions. He hinted that announcement from one friendly country might be done during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit.

The government, he said, will sell two RLNG power plants to one friendly country for fetching $2 to $3 billion. Without mentioning the name of friendly countries, the minister said that when he visited one friendly country and talked about cash deposits, its finance minister offered shifting of SDRs and the IMF knew about it. The transfer of SDRs, he said, would be done in December 2022.

The minister conceded that the rising inflation had eroded purchasing power of the middle class and their miseries increased. He said that the government protected vulnerable and poor segments and added that he did not have sufficient resources to protect the middle-income earners from rising inflationary pressures. There was no choice available to the government to protect the middle class and if the subsidies on fuel and electricity continued just like on the pattern of Sri Lanka, then no one could save Pakistan from plunging into default and bankruptcy.

He said he was not happy to be remembered as the person who hiked the POL and electricity prices but he chose to do it because he wanted to avert a default like situation. He made it clear that Pakistan and Sri Lanka were both poor countries and both were facing a difficult situation in November 2021. The Sri Lankan government did not increase the POL prices and now they were buying Rs3,000 per litre petrol while standing 10 days in a queue.

The women were forced to buy cooking fuel LPG at much higher rates. However, Pakistan raised the fuel prices and averted default.

The inflation, he said, had gone up making lives of middle-income earners difficult but there was no other choice available to the government. He said that the import bill had climbed to $80 billion in the last fiscal year while exports stood at $31 billion, so increased imports jumped up dollar demands. He said that the government and SBP took different measures to compress imports and it would start decreasing from July 2022. He said that the prices of POL products and commodities were coming down in international market, so it was hoped that inflation would start receding in two to three months period.

When Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail was asked about the ineffective role of the central bank in the massive free fall of the rupee against the dollar, the minister replied that the SBP took actions within the available space and he knew that the central bank had taken all possible measures to control the exchange rate. The minister said that the real effective exchange rate should be less than the existing rupee-dollar parity. However, the exchange rate would normalise when the dollar inflows would be improved.

On the occasion, the journalists repeatedly asked questions about provision of Executive Allowance for top bureaucrats which many termed as highly discriminatory but the minister did not reply to the questions.

The News PK
 
daytrader said:
Bound to increase electricity prices: Miftah
We will not breach the IMF agreement as it was done by the PTI government, says Miftah Ismail

ISLAMABAD: Ruling out the possibility of breaching the IMF agreement, Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail on Wednesday shared an ambitious plan to generate $11 billion, including sale of two RLNG-based power plants to a friendly country.

Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail declared: “We will not breach the IMF agreement as it was done by the PTI government by violating the Fund agreement in last February 2022 through provision of unfunded subsidies. We will implement each and every prior action agreed with the IMF, including collection of Petroleum Levy. We will raise external financing of over $11 billion through friendly countries by selling out RLNG-based power plants to one friendly country through government to government (G2G) transaction.”

While sharing his ambitious plan, he said that the government would generate $11 billion with the help of friendly countries through transfer of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), cash deposits, oil and gas import on deferred payments and government to government (G2G) transactions. He hinted that announcement from one friendly country might be done during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit.

The government, he said, will sell two RLNG power plants to one friendly country for fetching $2 to $3 billion. Without mentioning the name of friendly countries, the minister said that when he visited one friendly country and talked about cash deposits, its finance minister offered shifting of SDRs and the IMF knew about it. The transfer of SDRs, he said, would be done in December 2022.

The minister conceded that the rising inflation had eroded purchasing power of the middle class and their miseries increased. He said that the government protected vulnerable and poor segments and added that he did not have sufficient resources to protect the middle-income earners from rising inflationary pressures. There was no choice available to the government to protect the middle class and if the subsidies on fuel and electricity continued just like on the pattern of Sri Lanka, then no one could save Pakistan from plunging into default and bankruptcy.

He said he was not happy to be remembered as the person who hiked the POL and electricity prices but he chose to do it because he wanted to avert a default like situation. He made it clear that Pakistan and Sri Lanka were both poor countries and both were facing a difficult situation in November 2021. The Sri Lankan government did not increase the POL prices and now they were buying Rs3,000 per litre petrol while standing 10 days in a queue.

The women were forced to buy cooking fuel LPG at much higher rates. However, Pakistan raised the fuel prices and averted default.

The inflation, he said, had gone up making lives of middle-income earners difficult but there was no other choice available to the government. He said that the import bill had climbed to $80 billion in the last fiscal year while exports stood at $31 billion, so increased imports jumped up dollar demands. He said that the government and SBP took different measures to compress imports and it would start decreasing from July 2022. He said that the prices of POL products and commodities were coming down in international market, so it was hoped that inflation would start receding in two to three months period.

When Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail was asked about the ineffective role of the central bank in the massive free fall of the rupee against the dollar, the minister replied that the SBP took actions within the available space and he knew that the central bank had taken all possible measures to control the exchange rate. The minister said that the real effective exchange rate should be less than the existing rupee-dollar parity. However, the exchange rate would normalise when the dollar inflows would be improved.

On the occasion, the journalists repeatedly asked questions about provision of Executive Allowance for top bureaucrats which many termed as highly discriminatory but the minister did not reply to the questions.

The News PK
Click to expand...


Yep, not surprising.
Zardari in his PPP rule even sold the produce of our fertile lands to Arab countries.

No wonder these low life shameless imbeciles are hell bent to sell every asset that Pakistan has, to get those dollars to hog on like wild pigs.
 
Electricity base tariff increased by Rs7.91 a unit

ISLAMABAD: Moving swiftly to meet a pre-condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday approved for notification Rs7.91 per unit increase in ‘uniform national tariff’ and its application in three phases.

The Nepra had conducted the public hearing on the government request on July 20 and within 48 hours approved it without any change. “The authority [Nepra] has approved the request of the federal government,” an announcement said. The Power Division would now send the notification to the Discos for implementation with immediate effect.

“As per the request, the consumer-end tariff will be increased in three phases i.e. July, Aug-Sept and October onward,” said a Nepra announcement. No increase has been proposed for lifeline (up to 100 units) and protected category of consumers (101-200 units per month), it added.

The Nepra announcement said the decision would be applicable with the government notification. As such, the average tariff increase would become effective at the rate of Rs3.50 per unit during the current month, followed by another Rs3.50 per unit in August-September billing and the remaining 91 paise per unit in October. The rates would be equally applied across the country, including K-Electric.

The Nepra said it had already determined different consumer-end for each power distribution company (ex-Wapda Discos) on June 2 for this fiscal year under which “national average tariff is now Rs24.82 per kWh, higher by Rs7.91per kWh than the earlier determined national average tariff of Rs16.91/kWh”. Based on this determination, the government requested approval of a uniform consumer-end tariff after incorporating subsidies and surcharges for all the ex-Wapda Discos and K-Electric.

The tariff for certain high-consumption residential consumers has been increased by Rs11 per unit to cover the additional burden of consumers with lower consumption. The approved rate under the ‘tariff rebasing 2022-23” for consumers with a monthly consumption slab of 101-200 units and above is significantly higher than Rs7.91 per unit increase in the uniform national average.

Besides the massive cross-subsidisation among various consumer slabs, the government would still be providing Rs234bn subsidy, Rs220bn for distribution companies of ex-Wapda and Rs14bn for K-Electric finance the tariff rebasing cost of poor consumers.

The consumers using fewer than 100 units and falling in the non-protected category shall now be charged Rs13.48/unit instead of Rs19.56/unit suggested by Nepra and the consequential revenue differential shall be adjusted in various categories.

The increase in power rates for consumers of the ‘unprotected category’ using up to 100 units per month would be higher by about Rs4.06 per unit instead of Rs7.91 worked out by Nepra and hence this burden has to be passed on to the higher consumption categories.

The base tariff for those consuming 101-200 has increased by Rs7.21 per unit in phases to Rs18.95 while the rate for 201-300 per month has gone up by Rs8.31 to Rs22.14 per unit. The rate for 301-400 units has been increased by Rs4.30 per unit to Rs25.53, while the rate for 401-500 units has gone up by Rs6.51 per unit to Rs27.74.

Likewise, the base rate for 501-600 units is now increased to Rs29.16 per unit, up by Rs7.93 and that of 601-700 unit rate is fixed at Rs30.30 per unit, showing an increase of Rs8.97 per unit.

The base tariff for consumption above 700 units per month has gone up to Rs35.22 per unit, with an increase of Rs11 per unit. The base rate for the time of use (TOU) meters would go up by Rs10.06 to Rs34.39 for peak consumption hours and Rs28.07 per unit for off-peak hours.

The base tariff increase is on top of monthly fuel price adjustments that have ranged between Rs6-8 per unit in recent months. The government has already withdrawn with effect from June 8 a subsidy of about Rs5 per unit introduced by former premier Imran Khan on Feb 28.

The tariff increase would generate additional revenue of Rs893 billion in 2022-23 to meet the annual revenue requirement of about Rs2.52 trillion to power companies, excluding KE besides providing a general sales tax of more than Rs425bn to the government.

DAWN
 
Govt gives exporters subsidy on gas, electricity
ECC approves supply of RLNG at $9 per MMBTU, electricity at nine cents per unit

ISLAMABAD:
The federal government on Monday approved provision of subsidised gas to exporters for almost a full year and electricity for three months amid the exporters’ inability to show any meaningful increase in export volumes despite taking Rs106 billion subsidies in the just ended fiscal year.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved supply of electricity at nine cents per unit and RLNG at $9 per MMBTU to five export-oriented sectors across the country. It has increased the rates from $6.5 to $9 but would still bear a minimum Rs40 billion subsidy on imported gas.

The Ministry of Commerce presented a summary for provision of cheaper electricity and gas for the full fiscal year 2022-23 that would cost the kitty Rs129 billion against the budgeted subsidy of Rs60 billion.

Due to lack of fiscal space, the ECC for the time being approved provision of subsidised imported gas for the full year but electricity only until the Rs20 billion budgeted allocation is consumed, starting from next month.

The ECC after detailed discussion approved the RLNG rate at $9 per MMBTU, all inclusive, to five export-oriented sectors across Pakistan for existing gas connections, according to the Ministry of Finance. A subsidy cover of Rs40 billion for RLNG has been allocated under federal budget 2022-23 which will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.

The ECC also recommended the federal cabinet to raise the tariff of indigenous gas for export-oriented sectors at Rs1,350 per MMBTU and for general industry at Rs1,550 per MMBTU.

The ECC approved the electricity rate at US cents nine per kWh to five export-oriented sectors from August 1, 2022 subject to a subsidy of Rs20 billion provided by the Finance Division, according to the decision. According to the Power Division calculations, the Rs20 billion cover would end in three months (October 2022).

The ECC decided that it will review the electricity subsidy quarterly and the Petroleum Division will provide a list of industrial units getting subsidised gas and electricity, within one month to the ECC for review.

The ECC also decided that if any supplementary grant is approved by the forum in the future, the sponsoring ministry will also present a taxation proposal to neutralise the additional budgetary impact to achieve the targets set by the IMF.

The ECC also approved a supplementary grant of Rs750 million for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for 75 years’ Independence Day celebrations. But it directed the Federal Board of Revenue to prepare a proposal to increase taxes on tobacco to raise revenue equal to Rs750 million.

In August last year, the then government started providing energy to textiles, including jute, leather, carpet, surgical and sports goods, electricity at nine cents per unit all-inclusive and RLNG at $6.5 per MMBTU during FY 2021-22 to reduce the cost of manufacturing and enhance exports.

There have been concerns that the exporters are not bringing any meaningful increase in export volumes and the recent surge in the exports was largely because of increase in commodity prices. The Ministry of Commerce summary was silent on the point of any meaningful increase in the export volumes during the last fiscal year despite doling out Rs106 billion subsidy.

The government allocated Rs20 billion for electricity in the budget but the Power Division estimated the total requirements at Rs104 billion and sought Rs84 billion supplementary grant. The finance ministry refused to provide the subsidy due to the commitments with the IMF.

As of June 30, the pending claims of zero-rated industrial consumers is Rs26.2 billion and the Power Division needed another Rs6.2 billion just to clear the outstanding claims of the previous fiscal year, according to the Power Division’s note to the ECC.

For the current fiscal year, the Power Division requires an additional Rs78 billion as supplementary grant for provision of concessional tariff to export-oriented industries for consumption during the current fiscal year.

“In case the government approves less allocation, the Power Division will reduce the application of the package proportionately for such months as can be met from such allocation,” according to the Power Division.

The Ministry of Finance has maintained that there is space in the budget for additional supplementary grant due to commitments with the IMF.

Similarly, the government has also allocated Rs40 billion for RLNG in the budget to supply imported RLNG at concessionary tariff to five export-oriented sectors. But the Petroleum Division has demanded Rs11 billion for supplying imported RLNG to SSGCL consumers –a new subsidy programme.

Express Tribune
 
The federal cabinet has approved to jack up electricity prices by Rs7.91 per unit, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Addressing a news conference along with Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in Islamabad on Tuesday, Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir said there will be an increase of 3.50 rupees per unit from 26th of this month. There will be another increase of 3.50 rupees per unit from next month whilst in the month of October, the tariff will be increased by ninety paisa per unit.

Dastgir said increase in the electricity tariff will not have an impact on the poorest consumers. He said the consumers are already paying a big portion of this increase in the form of fuel surcharge. He said this fuel surcharge will now be reflected in the tariff.

ARY
 
The government on Tuesday announced a three-phased increase in uniform base power tariff, starting with Rs3.50 per unit with effect from July 26 to generate funds to the tune of at least Rs900 billion during the current fiscal year and secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking at a news conference with Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan said ‘tariff rebasing’ was approved by the federal cabinet under which the second phase of Rs3.50 per unit will become effective next month and with a one-month gap in September, the remaining 91 paisa per unit increase would come into force in October.

He said the tariff rebasing involving Rs7.91 per unit should have come into force in February as the previous rebasing was implemented in February 2021 but the previous government delayed it for political reasons. With this increase of Rs7.91 per unit, the base national average electricity tariff would go up from Rs16.91 per unit to Rs24.82 with financial impact of Rs893bn in FY2022-23, besides over Rs150bn in additional sales tax.

Mr Dastgir said the power tariff would start decreasing in November-December once the rebasing process was complete and the results of the steps being taken by the current government start yielding results.

Even with this tariff adjustment, the government would provide relief to about 45pc of the population or 13 million domestic connections (out of 27 million domestic consumers) with monthly consumption of up to 200 units per month.

Uninterrupted power supply

The minister said the federal cabinet also decided to ensure uninterrupted power supply to dedicated industrial feeders round the clock and minimise disruptions on mix (industrial and domestic) feeders so that jobs and economic activities remain unaffected.

Likewise, the cabinet also decided to ensure electricity and gas to five export-oriented sectors on priority and keep their tariffs close to the regional export competitors.

The minister said the coming three months would be difficult for the consumers but the power prices would start decreasing from November after reflection of fuel surcharge in the tariff.

He added the tariff increase was already being recovered from consumers in the shape of monthly fuel cost adjustments and quarterly tariff adjustments which have now been taken into account in the tariff rebasing and hence the FCAs and QTAs would be on the lower side.

In response to a question, Mr Dastgir said a new law was being finalised to facilitate commercial transactions on a government-to-government basis in a transparent manner as some friendly countries were interested in investing in Pakistan but had been hampered by existing privatisation laws.

The law that would also come before the parliament for debate would bring transparency in commercial transactions between governments because there had been delays regarding privatisation.

He said the power generation has significantly improved over the previous month after increase in hydropower generation from Tarbela to 4500mw from 1100mw last month and resumption of production from 1100mw K-2 from nuclear power plant that was on outage last month for refueling.

The minister said the efforts of the current government had started bearing fruits as the circular debt it had inherited had been brought down by Rs214bn to Rs2.253 trillion as of June 30 from Rs2.467 trillion. He said the amount of unrecovered bills that stood at Rs300bn when the PML-N had left in 2018 had surged to Rs1 trillion over the past four years.

The minister accused the PTI government of benefiting their “blue-eyed investors” by intentionally delaying key power projects, including 1320mw Shanghai Thar Coal, 1200mw Trimmu RLNG, 1,320mw Jamshoro and 720mw Karot hydropower. Responding to a question, he said the entire tunnel of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower project was being de-watered to confirm the real cause of the closure.

Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik said the power rates would start declining from October-November due to the “effective policies” of the government. “There will be a visible gradual reduction in the electricity price, hopefully in the coming three to four months,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2022
 
Petroleum levy set to rise on IMF demand
Finance Minister Miftah sticks to commitments given to global lender

ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan was ready to meet the remaining one prior condition of a further increase in the levy on all petroleum products that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had set for calling the board meeting to revive the programme, said Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday.

The minister’s statement should quell speculations that the government might not increase the taxes from August due to the ongoing political crisis. “There is a schedule to gradually increase petroleum levy rates according to which the levy will increase further in the future,” said the finance minister while sticking to the commitments given to the IMF.

The finance minister spoke at a seminar that had been organised under a condition of the foreign lender to qualify for the loan to reform the state-owned enterprises. The seminar was funded through foreign loan proceeds at a time when the country is at the verge of default.

Ismail said that the IMF had set the prior conditions of approval of the new budget, a memorandum of understanding with the provinces to create cash surpluses, raising petroleum levy rates, increasing electricity prices in July, August and October and increasing interest rates. He said that these conditions have been met.

Under the deal with the IMF, the government had imposed Rs10 per litre levy on petrol from July, which will have to be further increased by another Rs10 on August 1 until it gradually reaches to Rs50 per litre.

The petroleum products prices may significantly go up from August due to massive currency devaluation during the past 10 days, which could stoke hyperinflation in the country. The rupee closed at Rs236, having depreciated 1.31%, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The finance minister said that the IMF board meeting would take place later in August, although he wanted the meeting to be held in early August. The IMF board is expected to meet on August 25th.

The finance minister also said that there was a structural benchmark to form a team of experts for the diagnosis of effectiveness of anti-corruption laws. “I have added strings to it that the team will also be determined whether these laws have been used in the past against political opponents and what is the trade-off between efficiency and the anti-corruption laws.”

The previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government delayed the signing of the cheapest LNG deals in fear of being chased by the NAB, said the finance minister. “In consultations with the IMF, we will appoint a team of world and Pakistani experts to review these laws,” he added.

“Even though we have NAB and PPRA rules for the last 20 years, the corruption in Pakistan has not reduced and the successive governments have not bought cheaper goods,” he said. He again made the case for government-to-government sale deals with the foreign countries by bypassing the existing laws.

“It is not only a matter of good boards and management but it is the matter of better laws, as the existing law does not facilitate the privatisation process,” Ismail said. He added that the privatisation law was not the right law, as it did not allow the privatisation. “If we want privatisation, we need to come up with better laws,” the minister emphasised.

Pakistan’s privatisation policy has not succeeded over the years. The SME bank that has been making losses since 2007 and is on the privatisation list since 2008 could not be privatised till today, he added. “The Roosevelt Hotel may not be privatised right now but it is on the privatisation agenda for 36 years.”

The federal cabinet on Wednesday allowed the president to present the Inter-government Transactions Bill 2022 in parliament by changing its earlier plan to implement the new law through a presidential ordinance.

The Express Tribune reported last week that in a desperate attempt to save the country from default through emergency sale of state’s assets to foreign countries, the federal cabinet had approved an ordinance to bypass all the procedures for the process and also abolished regulatory checks, including the applicability of six relevant laws.

Through the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions bill, the Centre wants to empower itself to issue binding instructions to the provincial governments for land acquisition, according to a copy of the proposed law.

The government has also barred the courts from entertaining any petition against the sale of assets and shares of the government companies to foreign countries, as per the ordinance.

The finance minister said that Pakistan was in talks with a friendly country for the purchase of shares of Pakistani companies that were listed on the stock market. However, he said: “We have not yet begun the negotiations,” adding that the government wanted to sell minority stakes with the buy-back option; therefore today’s prices were not relevant.

The deal’s size is estimated at around $2-2.5 billion, depending on the number of shares being offered to the UAE and the price of the two-LNG power plants, according to people privy to these discussions.

The finance minister said that the government might lift the ban on the import of luxury items in the next couple of weeks, including pet food. He said that the condition about vetting letters of credits for imports had helped reduce the import bill this month, which so far stood at only $3.7 billion. The imports may remain only at $4.4 billion, which would take the pressure off from rupee from next month, he added.

Express Tribune
 
Govt may increase petrol, diesel prices by Rs10-17per litre
In case the government increases the PDL, then petrol price has been projected at Rs15 per litre and diesel at Rs23 per litre

ISLAMABAD: From August 01, 2022, there may be an increase in petrol and diesel prices by Rs10-17 per litre despite the fact that prices of petroleum products and crude oil remained just a little lower. However, the increase has been estimated upwards just because of the fact that the exchange rate has gone crazy.

According to sources, the hike by Rs10 in petrol and Rs16-17 in diesel prices has been estimated without the inclusion of the petroleum levy (PL). And in case the government increases the petroleum levy of Rs5 per litre on petrol, then Mogas price has been projected at Rs15 per litre and diesel at Rs23 per litre. The expected rise in POL prices has also been worked out without the inclusion of an increase in dealers’ margins (DMs) on POL price by Rs2.10 per litre on petrol and Rs2.87 per litre on diesel to Rs7 per litre approved by ECC here on Thursday. And if Rs2.10 in the price of petrol is added, then its price may increase 17.10 per litre and Rs2.87 is added, then diesel price may go up to Rs25.87 per litre.

And if the federal cabinet accords approval to this decision in the next two days, the increase in dealers’ margin will be effective from August 1, 2022. Industrial sources said that so far in the current month, the US dollar value has appreciated by Rs40 and the exchange rate against the US dollar is Rs239.9427 and in the open market is at Rs246.15. However, they said that the exchange rate of today (Friday) will determine the exact prices of petrol and diesel.

Independent experts say that since the crude oil price as of today (Thursday) settled at $99.4 per barrel, the consumers of Pakistan will not be able to reap the dividends, rather they will have to face a hike in POL prices in the wake of increasing exchange rate. However, the government seems more inclined to impose PL on both petrol and diesel by Rs5 per litre each as it is necessary to send a signal to IMF.

The News PK
 
Diesel to go up, decrease in petrol rate expected

ISLAMABAD: Owing to an outstanding pre-condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for increase in petroleum development levy (PDL), the price of high speed diesel (HSD) is estimated to go up by about Rs8 per litre this weekend, while petrol is estimated to be about Rs11 per litre cheaper.

This will strengthen Pakistan’s case for disbursement of $1.18bn when it is to be taken up by the IMF executive board on August 24.

Senior government officials told Dawn that both the major petroleum products — HSD and petrol – were set to go down significantly with effect from August 1, but three major factors — currency depreciation, higher PDL and increase in dealer commission — deprived the consumers of the benefit of international price cut.

These officials said the government had committed a prior action with the IMF to increase PDL by Rs10 per litre on HSD, kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) and Rs5 per litre on petrol to ensure a uniform rate of Rs15 per litre on all products at the start of August. At present, PDL is Rs10 per litre on petrol and Rs5 each on HSD, kerosene and LDO.

Move part of measures to conform with IMF pre-conditions for release of $1.18bn tranche

The ECC has already approved about 43pc increase in dealers’ commission on petrol and 70pc increase on HSD to Rs7 per litre each that will also have an additional impact of Rs2.10 and Rs2.87 per litre on petrol and HSD respectively. The currency depreciation also negatively impacted the relief otherwise due to consumers due to international price reduction over the past fortnight.

Based on international import price and exchange rate impact, the HSD price was estimated to go down by about Rs3.30 per litre and that of petrol by about Rs19 per litre. However, because of Rs10 per litre increase in PDL and Rs2.87 per litre increase in dealer commission, the HSD rate would instead increase by about Rs8 per litre. The petrol price, on the other hand, will still go down by about Rs11 per litre after negative adjustment of Rs5 per litre increase in PDL and Rs2.10 per litre.

As such the HSD’s ex-depot sale price is estimated to be close to Rs244 for the first fortnight of August instead of Rs236 per litre at present while petrol rate would be around Rs219 per litre instead of slightly over Rs230 at present.

The official said the government could have kept the prices of POL products unchanged for next 15 days through transfer of increase in HSD rate to petrol, but perhaps this was not an option because of the IMF limitations.

On July 14, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced a reduction of Rs18 to Rs40 per litre in the prices of various products as international prices went down. This was the first time the PMLN-led coalition government reduced petroleum prices after it came to power in the second week of April.

Between May 26 and July 1, the petrol price had increased by 66pc, or Rs99 per litre, while HSD price went up by 92pc since May 26 from Rs144.15 per litre, up by 132.39 per litre. Likewise, the ex-depot price of kerosene had gone up to Rs230.26 per litre, up by 95pc between May 26 and July 1. Similarly, the ex-depot price of LDO went up to Rs226.15 on July 1, up 80pc from Rs125.56 per litre on May 26, up by about Rs100.59 per litre.

Under the deal with the IMF, the government has to gradually increase PDL on oil products to a maximum of Rs50 per litre to collect Rs855bn during the current fiscal year.

The petroleum levy had come to an end on March 1 price revision as international prices went up and the PTI government decided to not only reduce petroleum prices by Rs10 per litre but also to freeze it for next four months i.e. until end of June. After initial indecision, the PML-N-led coalition government had been increasing petroleum prices since May 15 under the IMF deal.

At present, the GST is zero on all key products, including petrol, HSD, kerosene and LDO against 17pc normal GST. The government is also charging about Rs20 per litre custom duty on petrol and HSD. The previous government had given a commitment in December 2021 to the IMF for Rs4 per litre increase in PL on the first of every month to a maximum of Rs30 per litre, but went back on it on February 28.

DAWN
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The government is able to decrease the price of petrol by Rs 3.05 per litre. The price of diesel has however gone up by Rs 8.95. These prices are effective from midnight August 1. Pakistan Zindabad <a href="https://t.co/YQGp9bYiss">pic.twitter.com/YQGp9bYiss</a></p>— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiftahIsmail/status/1553793845837856768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

akMHoom.png
 
The federal government has decided to increase the margin for oil marketing companies (OMCs) rather than providing relief to the general public following decline in prices of fuel in the international market, ARY NEWS reported.

It has been proposed to increase the margin for the oil companies by 63.04 percent with sources saying that the margin for OMCs on petrol and diesel will be hiked by Rs2.32 per litre to Rs6. “Currently the margin for OMCs on petrol and diesel is Rs3.68 per litre,” they said.

The sources said that the approval in this regard will be taken from Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the federal cabinet.
 
Govt agrees to deregulate oil prices
In new policy, market forces will determine margins of OMCs and refineries

ISLAMABAD:
The government has agreed to give a free hand to the oil industry to set petroleum product prices by implementing a deregulation mechanism under the new proposed oil policy effective November 1, 2022.

At present, the prices of petroleum products like petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are regulated while the price of furnace oil is deregulated.

In a meeting held on Wednesday, the executives of oil refineries, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Energy Task Force Chairman Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) reached an agreement.

Sources told The Express Tribune that all sides agreed that both the products produced locally by oil refineries and those imported by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) would compete in the local market.

At present, PSO imports 50% of petroleum products whereas 50% of products are produced locally by oil refineries to meet energy demand of the country.

Sources said that there would be competition between PSO and local oil refineries in the country’s market.

Recently, the government has agreed to raise margins of oil marketing companies (OMCs) that would be effective till November 1, 2022.

After implementation of the new oil refinery policy, the government will withdraw the margins set for the OMCs including PSO.

The government also recently increased margins of dealers to Rs7 per litre that would continue to remain in place after the implementation of the new oil refinery policy.

In the new policy, market forces will determine the margins of OMCs and oil refineries, officials said.

In the proposed policy, the government had reduced the regulatory duty from 5% to 2.5%, which was later increased to 5% on the import of crude oil.

According to the agreement, officials said, the government agreed to reduce the duty to zero in the new oil refinery policy.

“If the government does not withdraw the duty, then the new refinery policy will lose its significance for the refining sector,” a senior government official said.

Officials said that the government had already increased the deemed duty on petrol and diesel to 10%. However, the entire collection was going into the national exchequer.

The refineries and the previous government of PTI had been locked in a dispute on the formula of allowing incremental revenue to the oil refineries for upgrading their plants.

The previous government agreed to allow 30% of the total incremental revenue to the refineries for investment in plant upgrades.

However, some key ministers from Karachi had been in tussle with a local refinery, which created hurdles in the way of approving this mechanism.

Now, the government will allow 30% of funds from the incremental revenue collection to be invested in upgrading plants.

Local refineries need $4 to $5 billion in total investment for upgrading their plants. Byco refinery has already started work on upgrading the plants.

Regarding the question of monopoly of the oil sector, oil industry officials ruled out any such situation. They said that PSO had 50% market share whereas the remaining 50% share was held by the local refineries.

PSO is a state-owned company and therefore, the government has complete control over this entity.

They said that the new refinery policy would also be helpful for PSO that was facing financial crunch and the risk of default on international payments.

The government has recently approved Rs30 billion to rescue PSO from a liquidity crisis as its receivables have crossed Rs600 billion.

The new oil refinery policy will provide PSO with the freedom to set margins and compete with other refineries.

The oil industry officials said that competition would also result in competitive oil prices for the consumers.

Express Tribune
 
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday said that following the condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has arranged to receive $4 billion from friendly nations; however, the government cannot afford to subsidise petroleum products.

“The finance ministry will not impose any more taxes and levies on petroleum products, but the government could not bear any more losses by providing subsidies,” the minister said, responding to a question in Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan" during which he was asked if the government was planning to reduce the prices of petrol following rupee’s growing strength against the dollar.

"The IMF has set a condition for us to seek $4 billion worth of loans from somewhere else first before seeking help from the global money lender," he stated, adding that the country has successfully managed to get the required loan from some friendly countries.

"We will sign the letter of intent and send it to the IMF by tomorrow," he said, informing the host about the document that Pakistan received this week.

When responding to another question during the show, Ismail said that all political parties should sit together and hold talks related to the "charter of economy".

He also commented on about the imposition of fixed tax on shops and said that he "made a mistake to slap an Rs3,000 tax on small shops. The minister remarked that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had imposed a tax worth Rs6,000 instead of Rs3,000.

Responding to PTI chief Imran Khan's comparison of Pakistan's economy with that of India, he stated that the neighbouring state had been building institutes since the 1950s while people in Pakistan were playing gillidanda.

"We have fake factories here to manufacture professors, we hardly paid attention to the country's education sector or its burgeoning population, yet [the PTI] is here to raise the slogans of true freedom. The same party has left behind a deficit of $48 billion," he said.

TheNews
 
The federal government on Monday increased the price of petrol by Rs6.72 per litre while slightly decreased the high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs0.51 per litre due to ‘fluctuations in the international market and exchange rate variations’.

The new prices will come into effect from midnight today, according to a notification issued by the finance ministry.

With the latest announcement, the price of petrol has been increased from Rs227.19 to Rs233.91 per litre.

The HSD will now be available at Rs244.44. It was earlier available at Rs244.95 per litre.

Kerosene oil after a slight decrease of Rs1.67 will be available at Rs199.40 per litre from Rs201.07.

Light Diesel Oil price was also decreased by Rs0.43 and it will now be available at Rs191.75 per litre from the previous price of Rs191.32.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2371301/govt-jacks-up-petrol-price-by-rs672-per-litre
 
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail went on the defensive on Tuesday, a day after the government raised the price of petrol for the next fortnight, saying that while he was an “easy target” the revision does not include any new taxes.

In response to a tweet by journalist Hamid Mir, he argued that the government had not imposed new taxes on petroleum products.

“The increase or decrease in prices is according to the purchasing by Pakistan State Oil (PSO),” he said.

Ismail’s remarks also come after PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter to say that party supremo Nawaz Sharif had strongly opposed the decision to raise the price of petrol.

He even said that he couldn’t burden the people further and that he was not in favour of the decision, she said, adding that Nawaz also left the meeting.

When Mir asked the minister why local prices were increasing when global prices had fallen, Ismail provided an explanation for how petrol and diesel prices are decided.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) takes the average Platt prices, adds freight and the premium paid by PSO on top of these prices, and multiplies that by the exchange rate, he said.

“In addition, it also ‘trues up’ the previous fortnight’s cost by taking into account the rupees paid by PSO at the actual exchange rate, as opposed to the average used to estimate the previous fortnight’s cost.

“We have not added any new tax or levy to the price. The price of petrol has gone up (and diesel has gone down) because the cost paid by PSO in the previous fortnight was more than the cost estimated by Ogra and also because the premium paid by PSO on petrol increased and [the] premium paid on diesel remained unchanged,” Ismail said.

“Again, not one paisa of new taxes or levies was added,” he said.

However, the journalist continued to grill the minister, to which Ismail replied that the fuel price summary was moved by Ogra and sent to the Finance Division through the Petroleum Division.

“We get it only a few hours before prices are set.

“I am an easy target. Which is fine. But this price change only reflects the change in PSO costs and doesn’t have any new taxes,” he said.

The finance minister said that people were welcome to “critique or criticise” him, saying: “I know I am sincere to my country and have saved it from default and [am] working to the best of my ability.”

Petrol price raised, HSD, kerosene rates cut
On Monday, the government raised the price of petrol and reduced those of high-speed diesel (HSD) and kerosene for the next fortnight.

According to an annou*ncement by the ministry of finance, the rate of petrol and light diesel oil (LDO) was increased by Rs6.72 and 43 paisa per litre, respectively. On the other hand, the prices of high-speed diesel (HSD) and kerosene were cut by 51 paisa and Rs1.67 per litre respectively.

“In the wake of fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variation, the government has decided to revise the existing prices of petroleum products to pass on the impact to consumers”, said the ministry of finance.

As such, the ex-depot price of petrol was raised to Rs233.91 from Rs227.19, showing an increase of Rs6.72 per litre, or 3pc.

The price of light diesel oil inched up by an inconsequential 43 paisa per litre to Rs191.75 per litre from Rs191.32 at present.

On the other hand, the ex-depot price of HSD was set at Rs244.44 per litre, down from Rs244.95 per litre at present, with a notional cut of 51 paisa, or 0.2pc. Likewise, the ex-depot rate of kerosene was cut to Rs199.40 per litre from Rs201.07 per litre, down by Rs1.67 per litre, or 0.8pc.

The government is charging a petroleum development levy of Rs20 per litre on petrol and Rs10 each on HSD, kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) in line with the commitment with the International Monetary fund.

On August 1, the government had increased the price of HSD and kerosene by Rs9 and Rs5 per litre and reduced those of petrol by Rs3 per litre. Earlier on July 14, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced a reduction of Rs18 to 40 per litre in the prices of various products as international prices have gone down.

That was the first time the PMLN-led coalition government reduced petroleum prices after it came to power in the second week of April.

Between May 26 and July 1, the petrol price had risen by 66pc, or Rs99 per litre, while HSD price went up by 92pc since May 26 from Rs144.15 per liter, up by 132.39 per liter. Likewise, the ex-depot price of kerosene had gone up to Rs230.26 per liter, up by 95pc between May 26 and July 1. Similarly, the ex-depot price of LDO went up to Rs226.15 on July 1, up 80pc from Rs125.56 per litre on May 26, up by about Rs100.59 per litre.

Under the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has to gradually increase PDL on oil products to a maximum of Rs50 to collect Rs 855 billion during the current fiscal year.

The petroleum levy had come to an end after the March 1 price revision as international prices were going up and the PTI government had decided to not only reduce petroleum prices by Rs10 per litre but also froze it for next four months i.e. until June 30.

After initial indecision, the PML-N led coalition has been increasing petroleum prices since May 15 under the IMF deal.

At present, the GST is zero on all the key products including petrol, HSD, kerosene and LDO against 17pc normal GST. The government is also charging about Rs20 per litre custom duty on petrol and HSD.

The PTI-led government had given a commitment to IMF for Rs4 per litre increase in PL in December last year on the first day of every month to a maximum of Rs30 per liter, but reversed it on February 28.
 
MenInG said:
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail went on the defensive on Tuesday, a day after the government raised the price of petrol for the next fortnight, saying that while he was an “easy target” the revision does not include any new taxes.

In response to a tweet by journalist Hamid Mir, he argued that the government had not imposed new taxes on petroleum products.

“The increase or decrease in prices is according to the purchasing by Pakistan State Oil (PSO),” he said.

Ismail’s remarks also come after PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter to say that party supremo Nawaz Sharif had strongly opposed the decision to raise the price of petrol.

He even said that he couldn’t burden the people further and that he was not in favour of the decision, she said, adding that Nawaz also left the meeting.

When Mir asked the minister why local prices were increasing when global prices had fallen, Ismail provided an explanation for how petrol and diesel prices are decided.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) takes the average Platt prices, adds freight and the premium paid by PSO on top of these prices, and multiplies that by the exchange rate, he said.

“In addition, it also ‘trues up’ the previous fortnight’s cost by taking into account the rupees paid by PSO at the actual exchange rate, as opposed to the average used to estimate the previous fortnight’s cost.

“We have not added any new tax or levy to the price. The price of petrol has gone up (and diesel has gone down) because the cost paid by PSO in the previous fortnight was more than the cost estimated by Ogra and also because the premium paid by PSO on petrol increased and [the] premium paid on diesel remained unchanged,” Ismail said.

“Again, not one paisa of new taxes or levies was added,” he said.

However, the journalist continued to grill the minister, to which Ismail replied that the fuel price summary was moved by Ogra and sent to the Finance Division through the Petroleum Division.

“We get it only a few hours before prices are set.

“I am an easy target. Which is fine. But this price change only reflects the change in PSO costs and doesn’t have any new taxes,” he said.

The finance minister said that people were welcome to “critique or criticise” him, saying: “I know I am sincere to my country and have saved it from default and [am] working to the best of my ability.”

Petrol price raised, HSD, kerosene rates cut
On Monday, the government raised the price of petrol and reduced those of high-speed diesel (HSD) and kerosene for the next fortnight.

According to an annou*ncement by the ministry of finance, the rate of petrol and light diesel oil (LDO) was increased by Rs6.72 and 43 paisa per litre, respectively. On the other hand, the prices of high-speed diesel (HSD) and kerosene were cut by 51 paisa and Rs1.67 per litre respectively.

“In the wake of fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variation, the government has decided to revise the existing prices of petroleum products to pass on the impact to consumers”, said the ministry of finance.

As such, the ex-depot price of petrol was raised to Rs233.91 from Rs227.19, showing an increase of Rs6.72 per litre, or 3pc.

The price of light diesel oil inched up by an inconsequential 43 paisa per litre to Rs191.75 per litre from Rs191.32 at present.

On the other hand, the ex-depot price of HSD was set at Rs244.44 per litre, down from Rs244.95 per litre at present, with a notional cut of 51 paisa, or 0.2pc. Likewise, the ex-depot rate of kerosene was cut to Rs199.40 per litre from Rs201.07 per litre, down by Rs1.67 per litre, or 0.8pc.

The government is charging a petroleum development levy of Rs20 per litre on petrol and Rs10 each on HSD, kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) in line with the commitment with the International Monetary fund.

On August 1, the government had increased the price of HSD and kerosene by Rs9 and Rs5 per litre and reduced those of petrol by Rs3 per litre. Earlier on July 14, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced a reduction of Rs18 to 40 per litre in the prices of various products as international prices have gone down.

That was the first time the PMLN-led coalition government reduced petroleum prices after it came to power in the second week of April.

Between May 26 and July 1, the petrol price had risen by 66pc, or Rs99 per litre, while HSD price went up by 92pc since May 26 from Rs144.15 per liter, up by 132.39 per liter. Likewise, the ex-depot price of kerosene had gone up to Rs230.26 per liter, up by 95pc between May 26 and July 1. Similarly, the ex-depot price of LDO went up to Rs226.15 on July 1, up 80pc from Rs125.56 per litre on May 26, up by about Rs100.59 per litre.

Under the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has to gradually increase PDL on oil products to a maximum of Rs50 to collect Rs 855 billion during the current fiscal year.

The petroleum levy had come to an end after the March 1 price revision as international prices were going up and the PTI government had decided to not only reduce petroleum prices by Rs10 per litre but also froze it for next four months i.e. until June 30.

After initial indecision, the PML-N led coalition has been increasing petroleum prices since May 15 under the IMF deal.

At present, the GST is zero on all the key products including petrol, HSD, kerosene and LDO against 17pc normal GST. The government is also charging about Rs20 per litre custom duty on petrol and HSD.

The PTI-led government had given a commitment to IMF for Rs4 per litre increase in PL in December last year on the first day of every month to a maximum of Rs30 per liter, but reversed it on February 28.
Click to expand...

Miftah knows cost of the parties and billions wasted by these thugs. So how better than fleece the public when the International Price is around $98. Which has come down by around $20 dollars in the last month.
 
In the wake of daily protests by the general public and traders against inflated electricity bills, a local lawyer on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the federal government to either withdraw completely or at least reduce to some extent the Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) charges and other surcharges from the utility bills.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court allowed dozens of petitioners to pay only the electricity bill for July, excluding the FPA amount.

Advocate Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutto, while acting pro bono publico, filed a petition with the apex court to invite its attention to the huge bills that the power companies had dispatched to consumers during July-August.

Over the last few days, the petition highlighted, electricity consumers across different cities of the country had taken to the streets against the FPA and other taxes in the bills, as the payables had jacked up to an unbearable level for them.

Citing media reports, the petitio*ner also highlighted that the consu*mers were torching their electricity bills during protest demonstrations being staged regularly in different cities and pledging not to pay them until immediate withdrawal of the FPA and other taxes, and issuance of fresh electricity bills by the power distribution companies.

The petition regretted that the government, instead of introducing people-friendly policies, was imposing heavy taxes on the poor electricity consumers, thus bringing extreme discomfort to the lives of even the middle class. At a time when making both ends meet had already become difficult for families owing to the rising prices of essential commodities, the massive FPA and other taxes in power bills had broken the backs of people, the petition stressed, highlighting that a majority of people were earning Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 a month and trying to survive in rented houses in poor localities.

It regretted that the authorities gave an impression to the people that the power bills had been inflated to such an extent under pressure from the International Monetary Fund. But, astonishingly, on the contrary, the government was enhancing service benefits of officials already receiving hefty salaries going into millions, free fuel, house rents and medical facilities etc.

Recently, the Punjab government increased the financial benefits for the lower judiciary, the petition mentioned, adding that on the other hand, taxes were being imposed on the poor. The petition also highlighted Article 25 of the Constitution, which ensures equality for citizens, but regretted that this constitutional guarantee was not being ensured. Likewise, Article 25A says education was a right of every child in the country, but due to rising prices, this right was being denied to children.

Similarly, it stated, Article 37 provides for promotion of social justice and eradication of social evils, but because of such “unjustified heavy financial burden” on the poor through the electricity bills, the purpose of this provision was discouraged. The plea also argued about its maintainability under Article 184(3) since difficulties were being faced by the people throughout the country and they were being deprived of their fundamental rights, as promised in the Constitution.

Bill payment excluding FPA

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court allowed dozens of petitioners to pay only the electricity bills for July, excluding the FPA amount.

Justice Shahid Waheed passed the order on the petitions filed by Muhammad Sadiq and others, challenging the recovery of the FPA in electricity bills for July.

The counsel for the petitioners argued that the process, assessment, observations, purported calculations and the claim of the FPA in the bills was not based on legally verifiable technical and financial data with respect to power production and cost calculation.

He contended that the misconceived statutory interpretation of tariff determination framework by the National Electricity and Power Regulatory Authority while calculating and charging the FPA on the basis of unverified data resulted in defective exercise of the regulator.

The counsel stated that the respondent charged the FPA by violating its legal and regulatory mandate in breach of the Constitution, as the same was in violation of articles 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10-A, 14, 18 and 25 of the Constitution being devoid of the principle of procedural fairness and due process.

He asked the court to order the federal government to undertake all necessary steps to bring forward a uniformed regulatory framework, appropriate administrative and institutional arrangement in relation to FPA calculations, tariff determination and electricity billing.

As an interim and immediate relief, the counsel urged the court to suspend the recovery of the FPA through electricity bills.

The judge issued notices to the respondents for Sept 14 and allowed the petitioners to pay the amount of their electricity bills within the due date except the FPA for July. The judge directed the registrar office to club all similar petitions on the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2022
 
The federal government once again jacked up the prices of petroleum products by Rs10 per litre for the first half of September 2022, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, the price of petrol saw an increase of Rs2.07, high-speed diesel by Rs2.99 per litre. The price of kerosene oil increased up to Rs10.92 per litre while light diesel jacked up by Rs9.79.

After the recent hike, petrol will now be priced at Rs235.98, followed by high-speed diesel at Rs247.43, kerosene oil at Rs210.32 and light diesel at Rs201.54.

The new prices will come into effect from midnight tonight.

Last time, the federal government increased the petrol price by Rs6.72 per litre for the rest of August 2022.

Earlier, it emerged that Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to gradually increase the levy on petroleum products up to Rs50 per litre, ARY News reported, quoting well-placed sources.

In the LOI, Pakistan has assured the international lender to gradually increase the levy on petroleum products to Rs50 per litre.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has extended the exemption in fuel adjustment charges (FAC) for consumers who have used up to 300 electricity units.

Addressing the PML-N lawmakers in Islamabad on Thursday, the premier said around 75% electricity consumers will get relief in their August bill.

Earlier, he had waived FAC for consumers who had used up to 200 power units.

Amid protests over the inflated electricity bills, the premier admitted that relief on 200 units’ electricity bills was not sufficient “as the middle class has been eroded due to inflation”.

PM Shehbaz lamented that the government was unable to take independent economic decisions due to International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

“We have to take permission from the IMF even before sneezing... How unfortunate is this that we are not independent to take [economic] decisions,” he remarked while emphasising that the country needed to become economically self-sufficient to achieve prosperity.

“This should be our last IMF programme if we have to stay alive,” he added.

Express Tribune
 
After a delay of six days, the government finally notified the revised prices of petroleum products in the early hours of Wednesday, raising the petrol price by Rs1.45.

As per the standard procedure, the notification for revised prices is issued around midnight.

However, this time, the notification by the Finance Division came two hours late, around 2am.

According to the notification, the price of petrol has been increased from Rs235.98 to Rs237.43.

DAWN
 
After IMF’s nod, govt cuts petrol, diesel prices

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday announced a cut of around five per cent in the prices of all petroleum products for the next fortnight.

The relief, which has been extended after a tacit nod from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was announced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at a news conference after consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The price of petrol has been cut by Rs12.63 per litre, bringing down the price from Rs237.43 to Rs224.80. The price of high speed diesel (HSD) has been reduced by Rs12.13 per litre from Rs247.43 to Rs235.30. The price of kerosene has been reduced by Rs10.19 per litre from Rs202.02 to Rs191.83. The rate of light diesel oil (LDO) has been cut by Rs10.78 per litre from Rs197.28 to Rs186.50.

Separately, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority has notified about 4.9pc reduction in LPG price for October. The prices will remain in place till October 15.

At present, the general sales tax (GST) is zero on all the key petroleum products including petrol, HSD, kerosene and LDO, against the normal rate of 17pc.

To pass on the relief to the consumers, the government took a hit on revenue by reducing the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol by Rs5 per litre to Rs32.42. However, the same has been increased by Rs5 per litre on HSD to Rs12.58.

Currently, the government is charging Rs12.58 per litre PDL on HSD, Rs15 per litre on kerosene, Rs10 on LDO and Rs30 per litre on High Octane Blending Component. Moreover, the prices of petrol and HSD also include Rs22 per litre custom duty.

On Thursday, the finance minister held a virtual meeting with IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter and took him into confidence over the price cut in view of the flood situation and an earlier assurance by the Fund’s managing director to allow relaxations during PM Shehbaz’s visit to the US.

Under the deal with the IMF, the government had to gradually increase the PDL on petroleum products to a maximum of Rs50 per litre to collect Rs855bn during the current fiscal year.

The previous PTI government had committed a monthly PDL increase of Rs5 on petrol and HSD until it reached Rs50 in January for petrol and April for diesel.

However, before the former prime minister’s ouster, he reduced the PDL to zero on March 1. As the international prices went up and the PTI government not only reduced the petroleum prices by Rs10 per litre but also froze them for the next four months.

After coming to power in April, the PML-N-led coalition government refrained from increasing the prices immediately. However, since May 15, the government has been increasing the prices in line with the IMF deal. As Pakistan battled with the flood catastrophe, the government had requested the IMF managing director for a three-month freeze on the PDL and fuel cost on electricity.

DAWN
 
66% of forex spent on fuel imports
NEPRA says maximum utilisation of local coal needs to be encouraged

LAHORE:
Pakistan’s reliance on costly imported fuels continues to grow in parallel to the increasing energy needs causing stagnation in the sector.

Pakistan is currently spending approximately $21.43 billion annually on fuel imports, which is about 66% of its total foreign exchange reserves. Hence, the switch to or focus on indigenous resources is becoming a ‘must’ in order to meet the growing energy demands of the country.

The fuel cost per unit of energy generated from imported coal increased from Rs20.17/kWh to Rs29.12/kWh while per unit cost of energy generated from local Thar coal remained around Rs4-4.5/kWh. This was revealed in the State of Industry Report 2022 recently issued by Nepra.

It is worth noting that coal-fired powerplants in Pakistan import coal mainly from South Africa and Indonesia, and this imported coal has incurred a major price surge of late. The delivered price of South African coal increased from $177 per tonne to $407 per tonne during the last one year only. Keeping this in view, a proposal to convert imported coal-based powerplants already set up in the country to Thar coal is under consideration, the report added.

“The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) is leading the process. It apprised that as per the initial findings, imported coal powerplants can use Thar coal for some percentage without making any modification to their powerplants,” stated the report. Nepra believes that maximum utilisation of local coal needs to be encouraged and utilised to reduce reliance on imported fuel.

It is pertinent to mention that 3.8 million tonnes of coal per annum was being mined from Thar coal field by the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) and the recent commercial operations date (COD) of phase-II of the mine has now pushed coal production to 7.6 million tonnes per annum.

This expansion will further reduce coal prices from its current $65 per tonne to around $46 per tonne which in turn, will power an additional capacity of 660MWs for the Thar coal based independent power producers (IPP).

In the phase-III expansion, approved last year, production of around 12.2 million tonnes of coal from Thar Block-II is expected to be achieved by early 2024. This is important because of the impact it will have on price – which will stand under $30 per tonne.

In addition, given the unprecedently high prices of imported fuel, Thar coal expansion III could also provide a huge relief to Pakistan’s forex reserves, with savings of approximately $2.5 billion, it read.

The report added that enhancing the share of electricity based on indigenous energy supplies is crucial to ensure energy security, self-reliance, affordability, sustainability, and reduction in dependency on imported fuel-based generation.

Express Tribune
 
The federal government has announced keeping the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the month of November.

Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the decision while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday. He said that there will be no change in the prices of petroleum products.

Dar said the State Bank and National Bank will withdraw the appeals submitted against the abolition of interest.

After the announcement, the price of petrol will remain at Rs224.80 per litre and diesel at Rs235.30 per litre, while the price of kerosene oil will remain at Rs191.83 per litre and the price of light diesel oil will remain unchanged at Rs186.50 per litre.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2386476/fuel-prices-to-remain-unchanged-dar
 
The federal government has announced to keep the prices of petrol and diesel unchanged for the next 15 days, despite a global decrease in oil prices, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced to keep the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel unchanged for the next 15 days. However, he announced a reduction of Rs10 per litre at the prices of kerosene oil and Rs7 on light diesel.

Meanwhile, he also announced a 15-day extension in the filing of income tax returns.

On November 15, Dar had announced to keep the prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products unchanged.

Ishaq Dar had announced to maintain the petroleum products prices for the next 15 days. Dar said that the prices of petrol, diesel, light diesel and kerosene oil will remain unchanged till November 30 as per the federal government’s decision.

The current prices for petrol are Rs224.80 per litre and Rs235.30 for Highs Speed Diesel (HSD).
 
Within days after government’s two finance czars Miftah Ismail and Ishaq Dar openly differed on the country’s economic policy direction, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Friday also took contradictory positions in the media on proposed discounted oil imports from Russia.

FM Bhutto-Zardari, in an interview to a US media outlet a day earlier, said Pakistan was not “pursuing or receiving any discounted energy” but facing an extremely difficult economic situation.

However, while contradicting his cabinet colleague’s statement, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik told the media Pakistan was very much pursuing discounted energy supplies from Russia whose energy minister was scheduled to visit Islamabad by mid-January to materialise those supplies to flow within four to five months.

But in an apparent attempt to dispel the impression of ‘conflicting positions’, the petroleum minister also said Bilawal’s statement was based on some ‘confusion’ that his ministry would explain in writing to the ministry of foreign affairs.

Bilawal’s statement based on some ‘confusion’, says Musadik Malik

He said the foreign minister’s statement to the extent that Pakistan ‘is not receiving’ any discounted energy from Russia was “factually correct”, as no supplies were taking place at the moment. He told a presser that during his recent visit to Moscow, Russian side had “clearly assured” Pakistan of supplying crude oil at the same discounted rates given to any other countries or even at higher discount.

Two of the eight Russian crude oils — Siberian light and Urals light — could be processed at the rate of 50pc and 30pc, respectively, at state-run Pakistan Refinery and Pak-Arab Refinery, respectively, while Cynergico Refinery could process all six other heavy crudes, the minister for petroleum explained.

The specifications had been discussed with the refineries before the visit of his delegation to Moscow, he recalled, adding that Russians had also offered to provide blended crude oils which could be refined at refineries in Pakistan.

Russia also promised to supply petrol and diesel to Pakistan for which negotiations would be held to secure discounts, which are equivalent or even lower than those available to other countries, he noted.

In response to a question, the petroleum minister claimed that he had not listened to the statement of Foreign Minister Bhutto-Zardari in the US, but on the basis of what had been told to him he said there seemed to be some confusion.

“We lacked something that we should have given in detail to Foreign Office,” the minister said, adding that his ministry would clear all misperceptions to FO in this regard as the Pakistani ambassador to Moscow had been part of the negotiations with Russia on oil import during the Pakistani delegation visit earlier this month.

He said the visit to Russia had been very positive regarding crude oil imports from Russia. The transactions when materialized at discounted rates would reduce the cost of energy and thus reducing the cost of production of everything, including storage and transportation, and ultimately benefit the people, he believed.

Mr Malik said a delegation of the Inter-Governmental Commission, led by Russian energy minister, would visit Pakistan in the second week of January to finalise matters related to the import of crude oil, diesel and petrol. He said Pakistan was also nearly ready to sign a trade agreement with Azerbaijan on LNG that will enable Pakistan to buy any distressed cargo across the world at cheap rates.

“We have already exchanged draft of the agreement that would be signed within a couple of weeks. Special strategic cell” had been created in the petroleum division to ensure timely implementation of any agreements and such initiatives like import of discounted oil from Russia, piped gas from Turkmenistan, oil import from Kazakhstan, oil and LNG from Azerbaijan and additional oil cargos from the United Arab Emirates, he added.

The minister said Pakistan was trying to sign a government-to-government agreement with the UAE through which Pakistan would get one or two additional cargos of petrol and diesel per month.

Pakistan, he said, had also revived the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline project for import of 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day. “We have given our commitment and we have secured their commitment to revive and push the project,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022
 
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Saturday that the price of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged heading into 2023.

In a televised address, the finance minister said the price of kerosene oil and light diesel will also remain the same.

The price of diesel will remain at the existing price of Rs227.80 per litre, petrol at Rs214.80 per litre, kerosene oil at Rs171.83 per litre and light diesel oil at Rs169.00 per litre, he added.

The finance minister said that following a rise in the prices of petroleum products in the international market, the Oil and Regulatory Gas Authority (Ogra) had recommended a slight upward revision in the tariff for kerosene and light diesel oil.

DAWN
 
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a 74 per cent increase in the prescribed prices of natural gas for the 2022-23 fiscal year, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the regulator allowed Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to increase prices by up to 74.42 percent. It also allowed Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to increase gas prices by 67.75 percent for the year 2022-23.

The oil and gas regulator has approved increases of Rs406.28 and Rs469.28 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for SNGPL and SSGC, respectively.
 
Cabinet opposes e-bike subsidy
For industries ministry, subsidy is only viable option to jump-start e-bike production

A majority of cabinet members have opposed the idea of offering subsidy on e-bikes, believing that it will promote rent-seeking and will also be unsustainable.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the Industries and Production Division informed the cabinet, in a recent meeting, that initially it was also against extending any subsidy. However, after discussion with industry representatives, it appeared to be the only viable option, in the short run, to jump-start production of e-bikes.

A cabinet member pointed out that at present most of the fuel-based motorcycles were being purchased on monthly installments through informal financing and it could be replicated in the case of e-bikes as well since any increase in installments, due to higher prices of e-bikes, would be offset by fuel savings.

...
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2395397/cabinet-opposes-e-bike-subsidy
 
Levy on diesel hiked to Rs35/litre under IMF target
The government jacked up petroleum development levy on high-speed diesel by Rs2.50/lit and increased it from Rs32.50 to Rs35/lit with effect from January 16, 2023

In order to keep the POL [petrol, oil, lubricants] prices unchanged for the next fortnight, the government jacked up petroleum development levy (PDL) on high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.50 per litre and increased it from Rs32.50 to Rs35 per litre with effect from January 16, 2023.

Under the IMF [International Monetary Fund] agreement, the government seeks Rs855 billion through petroleum development levy in the current fiscal year, 2022-23.

The government wants to maximise the PDL collection up to Rs50 per litre on all POL products, but so far it has been able to slap a maximum levy only on MS petrol.

In the first six months (July-Dec) period, the PDL collection was just around Rs200 billion. Now the government is asking the IMF for revising downward the PDL collection target by keeping it at approximately Rs500 to Rs550 billion maximum till the end of the ongoing financial year.

...
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1031147-levy-on-diesel-hiked-to-rs35-litre-under-imf-target
 
Ogra refutes reports of petrol shortage, says sufficient stock available

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) denied reports of petrol and diesel shortages on Tuesday, saying that sufficient stocks were available in the country.

“Ogra strongly rebuts the speculations on petrol/diesel shortages,” spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi said in a press release.

He said enough stocks were available to fulfil petrol demand for the next 18 days and diesel demand for the next 37 days.

“Furthermore, ships carrying 101,000 metric tonnes petrol are at berth/outer anchorage,” the press release added. “The local refineries are playing their due role in meeting the demand for petroleum products.”

The statement comes a day after petrol dealers told Dawn that oil marketing companies had cut down supplies of petroleum products over long delays in the issuance of letters of credit (LCs) by private banks for imports. This led to long queues and panic buying of petrol in various cities across the country.

The Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Energy had earlier this month sought urgent intervention of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to arrange the opening of LCs for fuel imports after the entire industry, including oil marketing companies and refineries, raised red flags over looming supply disruption.

...
https://www.dawn.com/news/1733371/o...trol-shortage-says-sufficient-stock-available
 
So oil crisis looming coupled with surge in prices as well, Alas where will the middle class of this country find relief,
 
Rumours of a massive hike in petrol prices resulted in long queues at petrol pumps in many parts of the country on Saturday.

According to reports be**ing shared on social media, the prices of petrol and diesel are expected to go up by anywhere bet*ween Rs45 to Rs80 on Feb 1.

“We saw a report on social media that oil prices will go up due to the surge in the dollar’s value and international petroleum rates,” Hassan, who queued at a petrol pump, told Dawn.

According to media reports, a similar situation was experienced in other areas. Petrol was available at only 20 per cent of the pumps in Gujranwala, while severe shortages were also reported in Rahm Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot and Faisalabad, Geo News said.
 
Last edited:
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday morning announced an Rs35 increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, which will be applicable from 11am today.

In a televised address, Dar said that speculation was rife on social media regarding an Rs50 increase in the prices of petrol and diesel. “Because of this, we have received reports of artificial shortages in the market.”

“The Pakistani rupee saw devaluation last week […] and now we are seeing an 11 per cent increase in the prices of petroleum products in the international market,” he said.

The minister recalled that in the last four months, from October to Jan 29, the price of petrol was not increased. In fact, he went on, the prices of diesel and kerosene oil were decreased.

“Despite international prices and rupee devaluation, on directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we have decided to increase the minimum price of these four products.

“We have decided to increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs35. The price of Kerosene oil and light diesel oil has been increased by Rs18,” Dar said, adding that the new prices will come into effect at 11am today.

After the price hike, petrol will now cost Rs249.80.

DAWN

The minister further hoped that the announcement of new prices would dispel rumours about petrol supplies running dry.
 
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