ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today announced that the government has decided not to increase the prices of petrol and diesel, opting instead to absorb the financial burden in order to provide relief to the public.
Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Sharif stated that the proposal to raise fuel prices has been rejected. He noted that a significant increase—Rs. 95 per litre for petrol and Rs. 203 per litre for diesel—had been suggested for the current week, but the government chose not to implement it.
He said petrol is currently being provided at Rs. 322 per litre and diesel at Rs. 335 per litre. He added that the government will bear an additional financial burden of Rs. 56 billion this week alone. Over the past three weeks, the total burden carried by the government has reached Rs. 125 billion.
He remarked that such a large sum could have been allocated to public welfare projects, but the government prioritized protecting the economic interests of the citizens. Emphasizing fiscal discipline, he said that austerity has become a shared responsibility of the nation.
He urged the public to cooperate with the government’s austerity drive, expressing confidence that unity and collective effort would help the country overcome its economic challenges.
