LAHORE – The government’s latest surge in petroleum prices prompted a legal tussle, with the hike now being challenged before Lahore High Court in a petition that questions not only the price hike itself but the entire mechanism used to determine fuel prices in Pakistan.
The petition, filed by the Judicial Activism Panel, urges the court to immediately declare the government’s decision null and void, arguing that the increase is unjustified, arbitrary, and against the public interest.
The petitioner argued that the latest hike places an unbearable burden on millions of Pakistanis already struggling with soaring inflation and a rising cost of living. The petition maintains that while global crude oil and petroleum prices have been on a downward trend, consumers in Pakistan continue to face higher fuel prices, a move it calls as ‘economically irrational’.
The legal challenge goes beyond the latest increase, taking direct aim at the federal government’s pricing framework. It alleges that there is no transparent or well-defined mechanism for fixing petroleum prices and claims that both the government and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) determine prices through an opaque process that lacks accountability. The petitioner further argues that such ambiguity creates room for vested interests and raises concerns about undue benefits for powerful players within the petroleum sector.
Fuel prices remained one of Pakistan’s most politically and economically sensitive issues post US-Iran war as repeated adjustments linked to IMF commitments and changes in the petroleum levy resulted in successive price increases, triggering widespread public frustration.
The petition also argues that whenever international oil prices fall, the financial relief is rarely passed on to consumers. Instead, it claims, higher taxes and levies are imposed, allowing domestic fuel prices to remain elevated or rise even further despite declining global markets.
Judicial Activism Panel, which has previously approached the courts on several public-interest matters, maintained that the latest petition is a response to growing public outrage over the government’s fuel pricing decisions.
While Pakistani courts generally refrain from interfering in government policy and economic decision-making, the petitioner argues that the current pricing regime violates Article 9 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, by imposing an excessive financial burden on citizens without transparency or justification.
Petrol Levy hits record Rs80/Litre amid Fuel Price Hike in Pakistan
