The simple question is when oil became cheap in the world market, why did the current Government make it expensive? Presumedly, the sole reason for the increase in petrol price is the opening of LC of PSO when the exchange rate was approximately 1 USD = 248 Rupees. This finance/petroleum ministry needed to feed the country’s industry with fuel and this panic buying will cause the nation the burden for the next 15 days.
We have not imposed even a single rupee of new tax on petroleum products. Prices that are higher or lower are only lower or higher according to PSO purchases.
Miftah Ismail, Finance Minister of Pakistan
A short clarification on how petroleum and diesel costs are set in Pakistan. OGRA takes the normal Platt costs, adds cargo and premium paid by PSO on top of these costs, and increases that by the swapping scale. Moreover it too “trues up” the past fortnight’s expense by considering the rupees paid by PSO at the genuine conversion scale instead of the type used to appraise the past fortnight’s expense.
