Caretaker govt raises fuel prices to historic high

ISLAMABAD: Burdened by an already high inflation rate, the people of Pakistan received another bad news from the Finance Division in the shape of a huge hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.
The caretaker government has decided to raise the prices of petrol and high speed diesel by Rs26.02 and Rs17.34, respectively – meaning that the per litre price of petrol is now Rs331.38 and that of high speed diesel is Rs329.18 until the next review on September 30.
While the country was still reeling under the highly inflated electricity bills, the caretaker government had increased the POL prices by up to Rs18 on September 1. The latest announcement has taken the fuel prices to a historic high.
The Finance Division said in a notification that the hike was due to the “increasing trend of petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variations”.
There has been dismay and anger among the people from almost all walks of life with rallies and demonstrations held across the country condemning the caretaker government’s decision to raise electricity tariff and petrol prices.