Pakistan hikes petrol price by Rs3.72 per liter for next fortnight

In this file photograph, taken on February 16, 2023, an employee of a petrol station updates the latest fuel prices on a board in Karachi. (AFP/File)
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Updated 01 December 2024
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Pakistan hikes petrol price by Rs3.72 per liter for next fortnight

  • Government increases price after variations in petroleum products’ prices in international market, says Finance Division 
  • Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight, which is also a key factor in increasing or reducing inflation in the country

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has increased the price of petrol for the next fortnight by Rs3.72 per liter due to varying prices of petroleum products in the international market, the Finance Division said this week. 
Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers in Pakistan while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The price of petrol has increased from Rs248.38 per liter to Rs252.10 per liter after the Rs3.72 hike, the Finance Division said. 
“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products, based on the price variation in the international market,” it said on Saturday. 
According to the notification, the price of high-speed diesel has seen an increase of Rs3.29 per liter, raising its price to Rs258.43 per liter. 
Meanwhile, the price of kerosene oil has been reduced by Rs. 0.62 per liter, which means it is now being sold for Rs164.98. The price of light diesel oil has also seen a reduction of Rs0.48 per liter, lowering it to Rs151.73. 
Fuel prices in energy-starved Pakistan are instrumental in contributing to inflation. The South Asian country saw inflation reach a record high of 38 percent in May 2023. 
Pakistan’s finance ministry said this week that inflation, which was clocked at 7.2 percent in October, is expected to slow to 5.8-6.8 percent in November. 


Pakistan offers Kyrgyzstan Arabian Sea access as two states sign 15 cooperation accords

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Pakistan offers Kyrgyzstan Arabian Sea access as two states sign 15 cooperation accords

  • Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan sign MOUs spanning trade, energy, agriculture, ports, education, security cooperation
  • Kyrgyz president is on first visit to Pakistan in 20 years as both sides push connectivity and CASA-1000 power links

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday offered Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea as the two countries signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation across trade, energy, agriculture, education, customs data-sharing and port logistics.

The accords were signed during a visit to Islamabad by President Sadyr Zhaparov, the first by a Kyrgyz head of state to Pakistan in two decades, and part of Islamabad’s renewed push to link South Asia with landlocked Central Asian economies through ports, power corridors and transport routes.

For Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan offers access to hydropower through CASA-1000, a $1.2 billion regional electricity transmission project designed to carry surplus summer electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan. For Bishkek, Pakistan provides overland access to warm-water ports on the Arabian Sea, creating a shorter commercial route to global markets.

“President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated Pakistan’s readiness to offer Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea,” Radio Pakistan reported after Zhaparov met the Pakistani president. 

The two leaders also discussed expanding direct flights to deepen business, tourism and people-to-people ties.

Zardari welcomed Kyrgyzstan’s completion of its segment of the CASA-1000 project and “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to completing its part of the project, which is now at an advanced stage,” the state broadcaster said. 

Zhaparov thanked Islamabad for supporting Bishkek’s candidacy for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat and invited Zardari to visit Kyrgyzstan at a time of his convenience. Both sides expressed satisfaction with progress under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, designed to facilitate road movement between Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.

Earlier, both governments exchanged 15 sectoral cooperation documents covering commerce, mining, geosciences, power, agriculture, youth programs, the exchange of convicted persons, customs electronic data systems and a sister-city linkage between Islamabad and Bishkek.

According to APP, the MOUs were signed by ministers representing foreign affairs, commerce, economy, energy, power, railways, interior, culture, health and tourism. Agreements also covered cooperation between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of Kyrgyzstan, as well as collaboration between universities, youth ministries and cultural institutions.

“Our present mutual trade, comprising of about $15–16 million will be enhanced to $200 million in the next two years,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after the agreements were signed, calling them “a framework for structured, result-oriented engagement and closer institutional linkages.”

Sharif said Pakistan was ready to serve as a maritime outlet for the landlocked Central Asian republic, offering access to Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar to help Kyrgyz goods reach regional and global markets.