Petroleum price freeze sparks backlash
Facing growing criticism over the government's decision to keep petroleum prices unchanged despite a sharp fall in international oil prices, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Saturday defended the move, insisting the government was neither favouring any particular sector nor placing an unfair burden on consumers.
The minister maintained that any relief would be passed on within the country's international obligations.
The minister's remarks came a day after the government decided to retain petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices at Rs299.50 and Rs311.47 per litre, respectively, "till further orders", triggering criticism from opposition parties, political figures and commentators who questioned why consumers were not benefiting from declining global oil prices.
In a post on social media platform X, Malik shared international Platts prices for petroleum products, showing that petrol traded between $98.35 and $91.68 per barrel during the week, while high-speed diesel ranged between $109.09 and $104.79 per barrel.
"The government is committed, within the scope of its international obligations, to pass on any benefit to the consumers," he added.
Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had so far reduced the price of high-speed diesel by a cumulative Rs200 per litre and petrol by Rs155 per litre.
'Tyrannical'
The minister's clarification followed mounting criticism over the government's decision not to pass on the latest decline in international oil prices to consumers.
Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair questioned the decision, asking: "Despite international oil prices at the pre-war level, in Pakistan petrol price still remains Rs300 per litre. Why not pass the benefit to people?"PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh also criticised the move, saying fuel prices had "fallen across much of the world".
"Yet Pakistan's corrupt government has once again refused to pass any relief on to the public. After previously hiking fuel prices by Rs137/litre on stock purchased at much lower rates - handing massive windfall profits to oil marketing companies and petrol pumpsit has repeated the same act. The people pay, while the corrupt protect vested interests," he said.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) also condemned the government's decision, describing it as evidence of official indifference towards the public.
JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said: "The decision to keep petroleum product prices unchanged for a week is tyrannical."
He maintained that international petroleum prices had already fallen below pre-war levels and alleged that the government had continued to protect the interests of petroleum companies during both price increases and reductions.
"The Iranian people haven't suffered as much damage due to the war as the Pakistani people have endured," he said.