IANS | 01 Apr, 2024
Even as the cash-strapped economy of Pakistan has taken a massive
toll on the lives of its citizens, adding up to their struggles,
miseries and sufferings with consistent rise in inflation, now the
government is gearing up to announce another major increase in petrol
prices.
With Eid-ul-Fitr only ten days away, the government has
received a summary of increasing the price of petrol by at least Rs
10-11 per litre for the next fortnight.
Government sources
maintain that the increase in fuel price will be announced on Sunday.
The hike is due to the higher import premium and global prices, the
government sources said.
"Petrol prices are likely to go up. But
price of another key fuel, high-speed diesel (HSD) is likely to drop by
up to Rs 2 per litre," said a government source.
"Import price of
petrol has increased by about $4 per barrel, and its import premium has
further gone up to $13.5 per barrel from $12.5 a fortnight ago because
of the geopolitical situation. Therefore, the price of petrol is
estimated to rise up by Rs.10-11 per litre, depending on the final
exchange rate calculation," said Khaleeq Kiani, an economic expert.
The latest expected increase will take petrol price to more than Rs 290 per litre.
"Last
year, the working class and common man paid more taxes then all the
industries combined. And again, the government wants to put more burden
on people with fuel price hike," said a local resident of Islamabad.
"I
want to ask the government to please tell me on how should I run my
household and expenses of my children? I run a auto-rickshaw every day
and make an average earning of Rs 800 to 1000 every day. Now when they
increase the fuel prices, my earning will shrink further. Without fuel, I
cannot run my auto-rickshaw. And with ending up with daily earning of
less than Rs 800, my family will be forced to eat once a day only," said
a local auto-rickshaw driver from Rawalpindi.
"We used to buy
groceries for a month before. Now, it has come down to 15 days. And due
to inflation and high prices of basic items, we have had to compromise
on many things," said another local in Islamabad.
"We come from
middle class families, who manage their own selves and families in the
best way possible. And today, the middle class is the worst sufferer
from the inflation. We cannot go out to beg on the roads, we cannot list
ourselves among families below the poverty line and take aids, we try
to hide our problems behind our white gentlemen collars and try to work
more and harder. But it seems that these politicians keep their eye
closed on the middle class category of Pakistan," said a local in
Islamabad who has not been paid his salary for the past five months and
is facing difficult times.
