Petrol price jacks up by Rs5.40 per litre a few days before Eid

ISLAMABAD: Just a few days before the Edi-ul-Azha, the government has dropped an ‘oil bomb’ on the masses by approving an increase of Rs5.40 per litre in the price of petrol.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill on Thursday said the federal government has approved an increase in the price of petrol by Rs5.40 per litre.
The special assistant, in a series of tweets, said: “Prime Minister Imran Khan went against the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) recommendation and approved Rs5.40 increase in petrol price keeping in mind public interest.”
The price of high-speed diesel has been hiked by Rs2.54 per litre, kerosene oil by Rs1.39 per litre, and light diesel oil by Rs1.27, the special assistant said in his thread of tweets.
The new price of petrol after the aforementioned increase will be Rs118.09, while high speed diesel will be available at Rs116.53. The price of kerosene has been set at Rs87.14 per litre and LDO will be available at Rs84.67 per litre.
Gill said that the government would now bear the burden as it has decided against OGRA’s recommendations in a bid to provide “maximum relief to the people”. The OGRA had recommended an increase of Rs11.40 per litre in petrol price, he further said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the OGRA recommended the government to increase the price of petrol by Rs11.50 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs2.40 per litre for the 2nd half of July.
For the first fortnight of July also the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had recommended the government to increase the price of petrol by Rs6.05 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs3.44 per litre. However, the government had increased the prices of petrol by Rs2 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs1.44 per litre. The government had also increased the prices of kerosene oil by Rs3.86 per litre and light diesel oil by Rs3.72 per litre. – TLTP