KARACHI – Panicked by reports of a third increase in the petrol prices within a few days, a large number of Pakistanis rushed to petrol pumps on Tuesday.
Panic about the third increase in fuel prices gripped the entire country, especially big cities, after Finance Minister Miftah Ismail hinted at another increase in petrol price earlier in the day.
Queues of vehicles, mostly motorbikes, were spotted at petrol stations amid panic about petrol price hike. People were desperately trying to get fuel before the feared hike.
Some social media users claimed that petrol stations have stopped selling fuel. Rs237.5 per litre is trending on Twitter amid rumours of another price hike.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail took to Twitter where he cleared the air.
“In the pre-budget seminar I never even spoke about petroleum prices. Channels running these tickers are doing a disservice to their viewers. There will be no increase in prices today and there is no summary or plan to raise prices,” he wrote in his latest post.
In the pre-budget seminar I never even spoke about petroleum prices. Channels running these tickers are doing a disservice to their viewers. There will be no increase in prices today and there is no summary or plan to raise prices.
— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) June 7, 2022
Earlier, the new finance chief addressed the pre-budget seminar and mentioned that as per the commitment given by the former government to the IMF, the per litre price of diesel should be Rs300 and that of petrol Rs270.
The development comes days after the newly installed government jacked up the price of petrol by Rs30 to Rs209.86, a few days after increasing the rate of the commodity by the same amount.
