Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power, and Petroleum, Muhammad Ali,stated on Thursday that a gas price increase was unavoidable and disclosedplans to raise gas prices in the near future, as reported by ARY News.During a joint press conference with Caretaker Federal Minister forCommerce and Industry, Gohar Ijaz, Muhammad Ali confirmed that gas pricesfor domestic consumers would see an upward adjustment.
Ali clarified that the caretaker government had no intention of raisinggas prices for low-income consumers but expressed concern about affluentindividuals in major cities using subsidized gas, a situation that neededaddressing. The minister revealed that the caretaker government had deviseda plan to reconcile disparities in gas tariffs and acknowledged that theprovince where gas was extracted should have priority access to meet itsdemand.
Ali highlighted that the gas sector was incurring daily losses of Rs100crore and an annual loss of Rs3,000 crore. He noted that companiesexploring gas reserves had left the country. The caretaker energy ministermentioned that the government’s hands were tied due to commitments underthe International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, making it impossible toreduce gas prices.
Earlier in the day, Caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar statedthat decisions regarding state-owned entities (SOEs) would be made based ona prepared list. She emphasized the caretaker government’s legal mandatefor privatization and its ability to make key economic decisions, includingthe privatization of state entities.
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Akhtar explained that state-owned companies would no longer be subordinateto relevant ministries and would not have to follow orders from theseministries. The government aimed to make these companies autonomousentities, as outlined in a policy displayed on the Ministry of Finance’swebsite. Caretaker Finance Minister further highlighted efforts to revivethe national economy and encourage profit-earning companies, citing SOEs’losses of 500 billion in 2020.
