KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday defended its whopping, unscheduled price hike of petroleum products a day after the rate surge, and said the new price of oil remained lower than tariffs in neighboring countries like India and Bangladesh.
The Pakistan government on Friday increased the price of petroleum products by between 27 percent to 66 percent. This translated into petrol tariffs raised overnight by Rs25.58 per liter and diesel rates increased by Rs21.31 per liter, according to a notification issued by the finance division.
“The prices in Pakistan are lowest in the region despite the recent increase. The price of petrol has increased by 112% over the last 46 days in the international market,” Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Power and Petroleum, said on Saturday in the National Assembly, and added the government had still not passed on the full burden of the international price increase.
But Friday’s move was unusual and came unprompted by any summary moved by the oil sector regulator, OGRA. Under normal procedure, OGRA recommends new rates in a summary to the government at the end of every month. This time, the rates were increased on the recommendation of the petroleum division.
Nadeem Babar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on petroleum, said the prices had been announced five days ahead of time to reduce losses incurred by oil market companies who were importing at higher costs and selling at lower rates.
Petroleum sector analysts agreed and said the government’s decision to increase prices before the expected time will work solely to decrease oil company losses.
“The oil market companies are incurring huge losses and the government’s move to raise price has just mitigated the losses,” Dr. Nazar Abbas Zaidi, former Secretary of the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) told Arab News on Saturday.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered action against nine oil market companies for hoarding and black marketing. Action against them included directions to cancel licenses and the arrest of officials after an inquiry body, the fuel crisis committee, found them involved in deliberately creating petrol shortages in the country by hoarding fuel despite having excess stock.
But no FIR has so far been filed against any of the companies, the Islamabad High Court was told on Friday.
Since March 1, 2020, Pakistan reduced the price of petroleum products four times due to the international market price crash. But oil market companies failed to meet supply.
Experts generally agree Friday’s drastic price hike has been taken to address these ongoing supply disruptions, with the shortages caused in large part due to a pricing dispute between the government and the industry.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers criticized the government for the record price increase, and said there was no transparency or communication among members of the energy committee.
“There is no transparency in the government’s dealings. The developments are not shared with the members of the committee,” Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, a member of the National Assembly’s standing committee on energy told Arab News on Saturday, regarding the hasty price surge.
Last week, in a letter to the government, the OCAC said the four public listed refineries in the country had incurred a combined loss of Rs47 billion for fiscal year 2018-19 and fiscal year July 2019-March 2020. It said oil market companies had suffered foreign exchange losses in the range of Rs40 to 50 billion in a little over two years.
The PM’s special assistant on petroleum said on Saturday the government was taking steps to make amendments in the law to ensure a smooth supply of the fuel across the country going forward.
Pakistan defends whopping petroleum price hike as 'lowest in region'
https://arab.news/gpfsd
Pakistan defends whopping petroleum price hike as 'lowest in region'
- No transparency or communication among members of the energy committee, says opposition lawmaker
- On Thursday, PM Khan ordered action against nine oil market companies accused of hoarding and black marketing
PCB sets Feb. 11 as date for player auction for Pakistan Super League 11th edition
- The squad composition would be a minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 20
- The number of foreign players would be five to seven depending on the squad size
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced that the player auction for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be held on Feb. 11, setting the stage for franchises to begin assembling squads for the country’s premier Twenty20 tournament.
The development came after a workshop regarding PSL player auction at the Qaddafi Stadium, which was presided over by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and PSL CEO Salman Naseer.
The workshop was attended by PSL officials, all eight franchise representatives, members of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad, PCB officials and other capped players.
“The HBL PSL management shared a detailed presentation on the mechanics of the retention and the auction process and consulted with all the participants,” the PCB said.
“It was agreed that the HBL PSL player auction will take place on Wednesday, 11 February.”
The squad composition would be a minimum of 16 players and maximum of 20 players per franchise. The number of foreign players would be five to seven depending on the squad size, according to the PCB.
It would be mandatory for the franchises to play minimum of three and maximum of four foreign players in the playing XI. The teams are also required to have minimum of two uncapped Under 23 players in the squad and one in the playing XI.
Players either retained or picked in the auction will be engaged for two-year contracts with their respective franchise teams, the board said, adding that franchise teams will be able to retain a maximum of seven players for the 12th edition of the tournament.
“I’m delighted that a consultative and productive session was held between the franchises, players and management today resulting in informed and strategic decisions which will pave the way for bright future for the HBL PSL,” Naqvi said.
“The Player Auction model is a landmark step for the HBL PSL, offering players better financial opportunities through an increased salary purse and a transparent acquisition process, while making the league more competitive and attractive.”
PSL CEO Naseer said the player auction system modernizes player recruitment by promoting fairness, transparency, and market-driven value, strengthening the PSL’s appeal for both players and franchises.
“Today’s workshop saw all views being taken into consideration and this rich feedback will be reflected in our execution of a successful player auction scheduled next month,” he said.
PSL has become a key pillar of the country’s cricket economy, providing financial stability to the PCB and serving as a talent pipeline for the national team. The 11th edition of the league is set to begin from Mar. 26 while the final is expected to be played on May 3, as per the PCB’s schedule.
