ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik has defended the government’s decision to revise petroleum prices daily, saying the mechanism allows domestic prices to reflect international market trends more promptly and helps maintain an uninterrupted fuel supply.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Responding to a Calling Attention Notice in the National Assembly, Malik said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) determined prices through a transparent mechanism based on the seven-day rolling average of international oil prices. He said prices, previously revised annually and later monthly, were now adjusted daily to reflect changing market conditions.
The minister said market trends generally became clear within three to four days, helping minimise inconvenience to consumers. Petrol and diesel prices had been reduced a day earlier following a cut in refineries’ gross refining margins on the prime minister’s instructions.
On the relocation of Pakistan Petroleum Limited’s (PPL) headquarters from Karachi to Islamabad, Malik said the move was a routine administrative decision approved by the company’s board. He said the relocation would facilitate officials’ participation in meetings in the capital and reduce annual travel expenses for board members, while Karachi offices would continue handling local matters.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf urged the National Assembly to address the sealing of Islamabad’s newspaper market, which had disrupted newspaper distribution across the capital for three days. The market was sealed over unpaid ground rent for an adjoining vacant plot owned by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), although the market had never been allotted the plot, he said. The deputy speaker directed Junaid Anwar to look into the matter.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani said the government was consulting textile industry stakeholders to resolve value-chain issues, prevent the diversion of duty-free imported materials into the domestic market and ensure exporters had access to quality raw materials at competitive prices.
Separately, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Balochistan had received Rs200 billion in the development budget, the highest allocation for any province. He announced 5,000 additional scholarships for students from Balochistan and the tribal districts, along with plans for solarisation projects and digital skills training to improve employment opportunities for young people.
Story by Asim Yasin
