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All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners’ Association rejected the proposed price deregulation policy, warning that it would consider protesting and striking against it next week if the policy was not withdrawn. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan has announced that petroleum prices in the country will be adjusted daily to tackle the uneven fluctuation in oil prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia. The government had started fixing prices on a weekly basis since the start of the U.S.-Iran war in late February.

OGRA would “not just publish the fuel rates on its website that are used to determine prices, but also publish the factors leading to the price that we see in each petrol pump”. The government has been fixing oil prices every week, but it came under criticism for delays in passing on the benefit of low fuel prices to the masses. The seven-day price adjustment was adopted after the start of the Iran war, before which, prices were fixed on a fortnightly basis.

Mr. Malik, in his remarks, said the step was part of the government’s decision to make the system more transparent, so that people could understand why increasing fuel prices were inevitable. He said the daily price announcements will be decided according to a seven-day weekly average in the international market.

He added that in another step towards deregulation, prices in the country would be adjusted according to international markets without needing to consult anyone. Mr. Malik also highlighted steps taken by the government to increase energy extraction. He noted that after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Turkiye, Turkish Petroleum — the West Asian nation's national oil and gas company — will be coming in October to extract oil and gas in Pakistan after a gap of 20 years.

Information Minister Tarar said that the increase in oil prices in international markets was linked to the worsening regional situation and that Pakistan’s efforts to resolve the situation had been “appreciated by the entire world”.

Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners’ Association rejected the proposed price deregulation policy, warning that it would consider protesting and striking against it next week if the policy was not withdrawn. The association’s Vice Chairman, Noman Ali Butt, said that the government should review its policy and not place the burden of its problems on petrol pump owners.

“All stakeholders should be taken into confidence before fixing rates with oil marketing companies,” he said in a video statement. He said that about 15,000 petrol pump owners across the country had serious concerns about it. Asserting that the new policy would affect oil tankers, transportation and the pricing system, he demanded consultation with the petrol pump owners on the issue.

Israel-US strikes on Iran / Pakistan / Gulf Cooperation Council / West Asia / petrol

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