Pakistan cuts petrol and diesel prices — Dawn

In Pakistan, the government has reduced the retail price of petrol by 1.49 Pakistani rupees per litre and that of high-speed diesel by 2.73 rupees. The new prices take effect on September 30, Dawn reports.

New fuel prices

Following the revision, petrol will cost 387.54 rupees per litre, while high-speed diesel will cost 402.24 rupees. According to the Petroleum Division's notification, the new prices will apply from September 30.

The government continues to collect 114 rupees per litre in taxes and levies on petrol and 100 rupees on diesel. The price of diesel has fallen from its peak of 520.35 rupees per litre, recorded on April 3. On the same day, the price of petrol reached 458.41 rupees per litre.

Before the price increase, diesel cost 281 rupees per litre and petrol cost 266 rupees per litre in the first week of March.

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Austerity measures and support programme

Amid rising fuel prices and the conflict in the Middle East, Pakistani authorities have reintroduced austerity measures. Markets must close by 9:00 p.m., while fuel quotas for official vehicles have been reduced by 50% for three months.

On September 13, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a support programme for users of motorcycles, auto-rickshaws and vehicles with engine capacities of up to 800 cubic centimetres. As of September 29, around 7.6 million registrations had been successfully processed under the programme, while the number of tokens used reached 7.71 million.

On July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said that fuel prices would be set daily in view of fluctuations in international quotations. The cabinet and the prime minister delegated authority for daily price setting to Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority.