The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has called off a countrywide petrol strike after successful talks between the Ministry of Energy and the association.
The government has agreed to increase the margin by Rs0.99 paisa and assured the petroleum dealers that the profits will be reviewed every six months.
In a tweet, the Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar announced, “The talks between the Govt and petroleum dealers association has led to the strike being called off. The government will notify 0.99 paisa increase in their margins after due approval from the cabinet as per the existing summary. After 6 months we will move to percentage system up to 4.4 per cent margin.”
The talks between the Govt and petroleum dealers association has led to the strike being called off. The govt will notify 0.99 paisa increase in their margins after due approval from cabinet as per existing summary. After 6 months we will move to % system up to 4.4% margin.
Petroleum Division officials said that a summary seeking a raise of Rs0.99 or 25 per cent increase in the margin has been sent, reports Geo News.
According to the notification by PPDA, the margin for the petrol dealers after the suggested increase will rise to Rs4.90, while for the high-speed diesel, the margin will rise to Rs4.13 after the proposed hike of Rs0.83.
On Wednesday, the association went on a strike which caused the closing of several petrol pumps across the country.
The New York Times (NYT), in an article has documented the lives of the public in the wake of high inflation in Pakistan.
Pakistan, which is already under heavy debt has recently reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first one billion dollars of what is expected to be a 6 billion dollars rescue package announced by the government earlier this week. Last month, Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, pledged 4.2 billion in cash assistance to Pakistan.
“The economy is the biggest threat that the government is in fact facing right now. This is basically eroding the very basis of their public support, said Khurram Husain, a business journalist in Karachi.
Journalists Emily Schmall and Salman Masood reported on the life of 66-year-old Muhammad Nazir, a shopkeeper who canceled his daughter’s wedding and despite having a motorcycle at home, walks to his shop. Many of his shelves are empty because he can’t afford to stock the same supply of candy, soft drinks, and cookies that he once did.
“I am not making any profit these days. Still, I come here every day, open the shop and wait for customers,” Nazir said.
Saleem Shahzad, a plumber who recently moved his six-year-old son to a less expensive school said, “[The Prime Minister] Imran Khan is a good person and is still liked by many, but his team is not performing. It is incompetent.”
According to government data, inflation in Pakistan surged 9.2 per cent in October from the year 2020. The cost of basic food items this month increased by 17 per cent. Pakistan’s biggest food import is palm oil, which has also jumped in price. Moreover, in recent months Pakistanis have seen standard gas prices jump to 34 per cent.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif Friday made a telephone call to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to discuss the rising inflation in the country.
Both leaders discussed a joint strategy of the Opposition against price hike and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amended Ordinance in the parliament.
Shehbaz’s son, Hamza Shehbaz, also proposed that the time has come that all Opposition parties sit together and work out a ‘constitutional solution’ to get rid of this anti-people government, as Shehbaz is optimistic that the PPP may join the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) at some stage for a joint movement against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, reports Dawn.
“Yet another petrol bomb exploded on the masses in the dead of night. This is IK’s way of providing ‘relief’ after giving a long sermon yesterday. Unfortunately, every day dawns with horrible news for the people. This incompetent/corrupt PTI govt & Pakistan can’t go together,” Shehbaz tweeted.
Yet another petrol bomb exploded on the masses in the dead of night. This is IK’s way of providing “relief” after giving a long sermon yesterday. Unfortunately, everyday dawns with horrible news for the people. This incompetent/corrupt PTI govt & Pakistan can't go together!
Anchorperson Waseem Badami, while speaking with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Firdous Ashiq Awan on ARY News programme, ‘Hur Lamha Por Josh’, asked Awan that if the prices of petrol increase, does it mean that the prime minister (PM) is a thief.
“This is a difficult thing,” replied Awan laughingly.
“My innocent prime minister [Imran Khan] is saying this that innocent prime minister cannot be a thief.”
The government increased the petroleum prices again by up to Rs 8.14 per litre early in the morning on Friday.
PM Imran Khan takes another U-Turn. Petrol and Diesel Prices increased by over Rs8 per liter. New Petrol price record Rs145.82 and diesel Rs142.62 per liter. PM desperately increased prices to save IMF deal. pic.twitter.com/eqWr0IxhJM
For the first time in the country’s history, the prices of all the petroleum products are above Rs110 per litre, reported Dawn.
The announcement was made by the Ministry of Finance on Friday with immediate effect to ensure the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The government increased the price of petrol and high speed diesel by Rs 8.03 and Rs 8.14 per litre, respectively. Similarly, the prices of kerosene and light diesel oil were increased by Rs 6.27 and Rs 5.72 per litre, respectively.
Under the notification, the new price of petrol is Rs145.82 per litre The price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) is now Rs142.62 per litre.
The price of kerosene is set at Rs116.53 per litre. Likewise, the rate of light diesel oil (LDO) has increased to Rs114.07.
The government is likely to increase petroleum prices by up to Rs8 per litre for the next 15 days if it decides not to increase existing tax rates, reports Dawn.
On the basis of existing tax rates, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Petroleum Division have worked out about Rs6 per litre increase in the price of petrol and of high speed diesel (HSD) by about Rs8 per litre. The increase for other products, which includes kerosene and light diesel oil, was also estimated to be in the same range.
An official said the government was considering an increase of petroleum levy by Rs4 per litre, either on Sunday or November 16. This would depend on its engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of its programme.
However, no official decision has been made yet. The official announcement would be made after consultations with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday.
Currently, the government is charging about Rs5.62 per litre petroleum levy on petrol and Rs5.14 per litre on HSD. In addition, it is also charging about Rs9.29 per litre and Rs8.81 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD respectively besides Rs9 and Rs13 per litre GST on these two products.
Energy Minister Hammad Azhar had said that the government was coming under pressure for giving up taxes on petroleum products.
At present, the price of petrol stands at Rs137.79 per litre and the price of HSD is at Rs134.48 per litre.
The Finance Ministry of Pakistan has warned the public that the exchange rate, commodity supplies, and seasonality could increase the prices and transportation costs in the country, reports Dawn.
The fiscal deficit in July-August was recorded at 0.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), same as the previous year.
Economic Adviser’s Wing of the Ministry of Finance in its monthly Economic Update & Outlook states, “The effect of these impulses — surge in international oil prices, exchange rate depreciation and adjustments in administered prices — may intensify the magnitude of prices and transportation cost.”
The ministry said the country had seen some improvement in economic activities but an unprecedented increase in international commodity prices was putting pressure on domestic prices as well as on the local currency. However, the government’s pro-growth initiative along with efficient monitoring of prices is expected to provide relief to the general public.
The ministry further explained that the country’s inflation rate was mainly driven by monetary and supply-side factors, including domestic and international commodity prices, dollar exchange rate, seasonal factors.
Earlier, it was reported that inflation in Pakistan has broken a 70-year record in the last three years, with food prices doubling, while the prices of ghee, oil, sugar, flour, and poultry have reached historic levels.
A couple of weeks ago, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin said that things are becoming more expensive all over the world and the reasons are unknown.
According to the quarterly survey by Pulse Consultants, almost six out of 10 people have no confidence in Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s claim of coming out of the economic crisis, reports The News.
The survey is based on 1,809 respondents’ opinions who were interviewed from October 04, 2021 to October 10, 2021. It covered 60+ cities from all provinces of Pakistan.
According to the survey, the number of people losing faith in PM’s economic policies is around 57 per cent coupled with a drop in those who were confident that the prime minister will be able to turn the tide.
In July, 17 per cent respondents expressed confidence in PM’s policies, which in the current survey has dropped to seven percent. Regarding questions about the direction of the economic policies, 56 per cent respondents in July found them to be in the wrong direction, but three months later it has risen by 19 per cent to 77 per cent. On the contrary, those perceiving them to be on the right track have dropped to 24 per cent from 43 per cent in July.
Anxiety about the wrong direction is high is in the main political battleground provinces Punjab (79 percent) and Sindh (73 percent), as per the survey.
Since November 19, 2018 more than 95 per cent believe that inflation has increased after every three months.
Furthermore, the survey states that 68 per cent of people do not have savings and most of them have reduced their expenditures to make ends meet.
When the respondents were asked about the country’s major concern, 77 per cent complained about inflation whereas 35 per cent found corruption, 25 per cent unemployment, 11 per cent load shedding, while 10 per cent termed inability to meet expenses as their biggest problem.
The Pulse Consultant also asked the respondents about the performance of PM’s Adviser on Finance and Revenues, Shaukat Tarin, which showed that 53 per cent were dissatisfied with him.
The survey was conducted through CATI (Computer assisted telephonic interviews), a state-of-the-art technology where all calls are recorded.
The country is Heading Towards Wrong Economical Direction
Three amongst four Pakistanis believe that country is heading towards a wrong economic direction
In July 2021 there were 56% have that opinion but in October 2021 with an increase of 19%, 75% have that opinion
Anxiety about the wrong direction is high in Punjab (79%) & Sindh (73%) – the main political battleground followed by KP – PTI’s hometown (67%)
PM Claim About Restoration of Country Economic Outlook
In July 2021, 6 out of 10 respondents (62%) had overall belief on PM IK’s claim that “country is out of economic crisis”
Now in October 2021, wave condition is vice versa – almost 6 out of 10 (57%) have opposite opinion and have no belief in PM IK’s narrative (In July 38% had no believe now by the increase of 19% -57% have no belief)
Satisfaction with Shaukat Tarin
Dissatisfaction increased 15% (from 38% to 53%)
Satisfaction decreased 22% (from 35% to just 13%)
Inflation Trend
Almost every Pakistani hit by inflation and 98% are reporting that ‘Inflation increased in past three months’
Price Hike – Major Cause of Dissatisfaction
Like previous wave, in July Y2021 ‘Inflation’ is once again ranked as the gravest issue by (with the increase of 5%) 77% of the respondents.
If we read it with the answer “Expenses Not Meet” (اخراجات پورے نہیں ہوتے),of 10% – then it will reach to 87% – Ever highest in past three years
This is followed by & ‘Corruption’ (35%) & ‘Unemployment’ (25%), in this wave ‘Corruption’ – overtake the ‘Unemployment’
Expenses
We asked the same questions about “Monthly Expenses Management” back in July 2020, in July 2020, 41% had the opinion that – their monthly expenses are according to their income – but with the decline of 9% , now 32% have the same opinion
Jul-20 Oct-21Monthly Expenses Meet 41% 32%
Monthly Expenses Not Meet 59% 68%
Punjab & KPK – where #PTI is holding the provincial Govt. unrest increase significantly – specially in KP
If we compare the results of July 2020 & October 2021 (after 13 months) – Upper Socio Economic Class is also complaining that their monthly expenses are not meeting
Those who claimed that – their monthly income meet expenses – 31% amongst them claimed that they save any money
On the other hand – those who complained that their household expenses are not meet – 37% amongst them reduced their expenses, 30% borrow money and 30% do some extra job/work other than regular
Members of the Awami Rickshaw Drivers Union organised a protest against the increase in fuel prices in Lahore, Samaa has reported. The protesters threatened the government to hold an indefinite sit-in if the government did not lower gasoline and natural gas rates.
Chairman of the Rickshaw Union, Majeed Ghori, stated that if the government does not reduce fuel prices in the next 24 hours, they will hold sit-ins at city’s busiest junctions, disrupting traffic. He also warned that they would protest outside the Chief Minister House.
The federal government has issued a notice to increase the price of petrol by Rs10.49 per litre. Apart from this, the price of high speed diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs12.44 per litre.
The prices of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) have been increased by Rs10.95 and Rs8.84 per litre respectively. The new price of kerosene is Rs110.26 per litre and that of LDO is Rs108.35 per litre.
