KARACHI: Pakistan’s caretaker information minister Murtaza Solangi said Saturday the government might be able to reduce fuel prices in the country during the next fortnightly review due to the relative increase in the value of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar in recent weeks.
He issued the statement during a brief media interaction at the Karachi Press Club in response to a question regarding a possible relief in the record rise in petroleum prices which has built massive inflationary pressure on the economy and increased the cost of living in the country.
The country fixes fuel prices on a fortnightly basis after evaluating fluctuating international energy market costs and the rupee-dollar parity to transfer the impact on domestic consumers.
The government announced a historic increase in the prices of petroleum products last week on Friday, making the per liter petrol rate breach the Rs330 mark for the first time in history.
“We import most the oil and the price in the international market and the amount of money we pay in dollars become two major factors affecting the cost of oil products,” the information minister said.
“But the way our government has reduced the value of the dollar through administrative measures, we will probably pay less rupees to buy petrol,” he continued. “It is therefore highly likely that the price of petrol will come down when the next announcement is made.”
Solangi also responded to questions about the prevailing political situation in the country, specifically about the forthcoming return of Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from self-exile in London ahead of the national polls in January.
The three-time premier flew out of the country in November 2019 after securing medical bail following his conviction in two corruption references and was later declared an absconder for not returning to Pakistan within a stipulated period.
Sharif and his party have said that all cases against him are politically motivated. However, the announcement of his homecoming on October 21 at the beginning of the month has made his rivals raise the question about whether he was going to surrender himself to the law.
“Nawaz Sharif has been the prime minister of this country three times,” Solangi said. “He is the leader of a very large political party. When he went abroad, he did not break the walls of the prison but got permission from a court and the government of that time. When he returns, he will be treated according to the constitution and law of the country.”
The minister said the media should ask about Sharif’s strategy in the face of all the legal challenges from his political faction, adding he did not know whether he would apply for bail before returning to the country or not.
This is the first time the country’s interim administration has issued a statement about Sharif’s planned return to Pakistan.