PM Shebaz asks petroleum minister to travel to Karachi over fuel prices

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik to travel to Karachi without delay and take urgent steps to ease fuel costs for the public, according to a Prime Minister's Office statement. The directive came during a meeting also attended by Attaullah Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Musadik Malik and Hamza Shehbaz. Business Recorder reported that the premier wants the minister to negotiate personally with local refineries, since the bulk of domestically produced diesel is made there.

The move follows revised ex-depot prices announced by the Petroleum Division on Tuesday, effective August 19. Petrol rose by Rs3.34 per litre to Rs334.54, while high-speed diesel (HSD) increased by Rs5.27 to Rs395.69 per litre. The petroleum levy on HSD was raised to Rs78.28, whereas the levy on petrol stayed at Rs80 per litre.

Jamaat-e-Islami had earlier staged citywide protests against the heavy petroleum levy and frequent fuel price increases. Those demonstrations included road blockades on Shahrah-e-Faisal and several other routes.