ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said on Tuesday his government would keep the gas prices unchanged until winter months of December and January, Pakistani state media reported, amid rising costs of living in Pakistan.
In February this year, Pakistan’s caretaker government had increased the price of natural gas by up to 67 percent for residential consumers in a bid to meet one of the key fiscal tightening conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the final review of its last bailout program, worth $3 billion, that ended in April.
The gas price for protected consumers category of up to 0.25 cubic hectometers (hm3) and up to 0.9 hm3 was increased to Rs200 from Rs121 and Rs350 from Rs300, or between 40 percent and 67 percent, while the rates for non-protected category consuming up to 0.25 hm3 to above 4 hm3 was raised to Rs500 to Rs4,200, or between 5 percent to 25 percent.
Malik denied reports of any further increase in gas tariff and said the government was striving to avoid placing any additional burden on the people, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“If the need arises to provide relief, we will make decisions in consultation with all provinces and move forward together,” he was quoted as saying. “Our aim is to avoid increasing gas prices.”
Pakistan’s inflation rate surged to a historic high of 38 percent in May 2023, but has since declined to clock in at 11.1 percent in July. The central bank has also revised its inflation forecast upwards from 20-22 percent to 23-25 percent for the current fiscal year due to a hike in energy prices.
Pakistan, which imports most of its energy needs, saw days of protests last month over the rising costs of living, mainly fueled by energy price hikes. The protests prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to announce a three-month, Rs50 billion subsidy for electricity consumers using up to 200 units a month.
Malik said 86 percent consumers using up to 200 units had been given relief from the federal government, while 98 percent of domestic electricity consumers, who used up to 500 units, had been provided relief by the Punjab government, urging other provincial governments to offer similar relief.
Pakistan to keep gas prices unchanged until winter months — petroleum minister
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Pakistan to keep gas prices unchanged until winter months — petroleum minister
- In February, Pakistan’s caretaker government had increased the price of natural gas by up to 67 percent for residential consumers
- Pakistan last month saw days of protests over the rising costs of living, mainly fueled by exorbitant hikes in energy prices
US sees 18 percent rise in Pakistani students despite UGRAD pause, opens new USEFP headquarters
- USEFP inaugurates purpose-built campus in Islamabad as Fulbright program marks 75 years in Pakistan
- Undergraduate UGRAD program remains suspended but graduate scholarships and visas continue, US officials say
ISLAMABAD: The United States inaugurated a new purpose-built headquarters for the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) this week, as American officials reported an 18 percent rise in Pakistani students studying in the US, despite the suspension of a major undergraduate exchange scheme earlier this year.
The launch comes as the Fulbright program completes 75 years in Pakistan, the world’s largest US-funded scholarship portfolio for master’s and PhD study. Officials said growing student mobility and stable visa issuance reflect continued academic engagement between the two countries, even after the UGRAD exchange program was paused in April.
USEFP Executive Director Peter Moran told Arab News that Pakistani students are still securing visas without unusual difficulty and enrollment levels remain strong.
“We are not finding that Pakistani students are facing undue difficulties getting their visas when they want to go and study on their own. The number of Pakistani students who are studying in the United States, actually based on data from the year before last, because you know there’s always a lag, it’s up 18 percent,” Moran said, citing 2023 figures.
He said nearly 10,000 Pakistanis are currently enrolled in US institutions, including self-funded students. While UGRAD, which previously sent 100–130 undergraduates per year, remains paused under US budget adjustments, Moran said there is hope it will return.
“So, the UGRAD program for now is on pause ... the UGRAD program sent undergraduate, actually high school students. That program ended in April. We don’t know when that will come back, but we sure hope that it will.”
USEFP clarified that no reductions have been applied to graduate programs.
“There is no cut on Fulbright… and we don’t anticipate there being any,” Moran added.
Around 65 Pakistani scholars left for the US through Fulbright this year, another 10–12 departed under the Humphrey Fellowship, and USEFP expects next year’s Fulbright cohort to rise to 75–80.
The inauguration of the new headquarters brought together US officials, scholarship alumni and education leaders.
US Embassy Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy Andy Halus said the new facility reflects the depth of the bilateral academic partnership.
“We have over 9,000 students in Pakistan that have had experience in the United States on the Fulbright programs that started 70 years ago. Our commitment to sending more and more students to the United States on the Fulbright program is strong and it’s going to continue.”
Among attendees was Fulbright alumnus Aftab Haider, the CEO of Pakistan Single Window, the government-backed digital trade clearance platform. He credited the scholarship with shaping his career:
“I am a very proud Fulbrighter from 2008. I think it is one of the most transformational programs that can be offered to young Pakistanis to have the opportunity to be educated abroad, come back to Pakistan and contribute in public service delivery as well as in enhancement of the private sector.”
