ISLAMABAD – Amid the nationwide protests in wake of an increase in petrolprices, the Finance Minister hinted at an increase in the petroleumdevelopment levy on oil products.
Shaukat Tarin, speaking on primetime show on Saturday, said the globallender has asked Pakistani officials to increase the petroleum developmentlevy saying it will depend on the global prices of petroleum products.
However, he mentioned that if the global price of oil goes down, it will beeasy for Pakistan to increase the petroleum development levy.
Commenting on the record-high prices, he said the recent surge came in wakeof rapid changes in the international market, where the prices touchedtheir peak in recent times.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister ruled out any deadlock in the talks withthe IMF, saying there is a single irritant regarding the autonomy of theState Bank of Pakistan (SBP) being currently negotiated upon, which he saidwill hopefully be resolved in the coming days.
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On Friday, the government increased the price of petrol by Rs8.03 perlitre, a day after PM Imran Khan hinted at the surge in petroleum prices.The new price of petrol stands at Rs145.82 per litre after the increase,according to a notification from the finance ministry.
Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court against the recentfuel price hike. The plaintiff argued that the recent surge in petroleumprices is ‘illegal’. He maintained that the increase in fuel prices wasnever approved by the cabinet which makes it unconstitutional.
