Govt rules out increasing fuel prices for the time being: Miftah Ismail

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Sunday that the government has decided against increasing prices of petroleum products for the time being, Aaj News reported.

His comments come amid reports that the government would increase rates by up to Rs86 per litre after the curtailment of fuel subsidies.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, the finance minister said he has forwarded a summary to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is in the UAE at the moment.

“Although the prime minister is not in the country, I am sure that the prices will not be increased for now,” he said.

"We are not increasing prices today. Please do not go out in this heat to get your tanks filled," Ismail said.

Ismail, however, hinted at a price hike in the future if oil prices in the international market stay on the current trajectory.

“I am not saying we will not increase fuel prices. But, for now, we are not increasing petrol prices. We cannot afford to burden the masses further. PM Shehbaz has asked me not to increase the fuel prices,” he said.

The finance minister said he would be part of the delegation going to Qatar for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and hoped talks would be fruitful for the country.

IMF to initiate staff mission with Pakistan in Doha on 18th

Business Recorder earlier reported that the IMF will start a staff mission on May 18 with the Pakistani authorities in Doha, Qatar. This was shared by Esther Perez Ruiz, IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan while responding to Business Recorder queries.

She stated, “An International Monetary Fund team will start a staff mission on May 18 with the Pakistani authorities in Doha, Qatar.”

The IMF mission will discuss with the authorities policies to further the Extended Fund Facility’s 7th review. The talks are expected to continue for one week.

The authorities have also requested the IMF to extend the EFF arrangement through June 2023 as a signal of their commitment to address existing challenges and achieve the program objectives.

Meanwhile, Ismail said former finance minister Shaukat Tarin had promised the IMF that the then government would abolish all the subsidies on petrol in a phased-manner.

"Shaukat Tarin promised the IMF that they will end the subsidy, take the levy to Rs30 per litre and increase a 17% GST on petrol."

Ismail said that the PTI government had "promised" the IMF in December that the primary deficit would be Rs25 billion and the total deficit would be around Rs4,000 billion.

"The primary deficit has increased from Rs25 billion to Rs1,320 billion," he said, questioning how the new government could cut it down in a few months.

He claimed that the IMF had ended its programme with the PTI government and the latter had been requesting the Fund to not make it public.

"I went to the IMF as soon as I came and asked them to start talks with us. They said give us a political commitment and I said we are ready to extend the programme by a year. They said okay let's talk then."

The finance minister said he had sought another $2 billion from the IMF since they were going to extend the programme by another year .

"The Fund said they would discuss it," Ismail added.

Referring to rupee devaluation, the finance minister said that the dollar was at Rs115 during the PML-N's previous tenure, but surged to Rs189 during the four-year term of the PTI’s government.

"The PTI-led government brought the country to the brink of economic disaster," he said. "We are trying to fix the situation now."

Ismail further said that the current coalition government was also working to improve the agriculture sector of the country.

"The government will import edible oil worth $4 billion, while we will not import any sugar during the current fiscal year."