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Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor on Wednesday assured the Senate that no petroleum company could manoeuvre and monopolise the petroleum prices for their benefit.
"We have a transparent mechanism to revise petrol prices and there is no question of any company to take undue benefit by influencing the petroleum price," he said in response to an adjournment motion by Senator Professor Khursheed Ahmed.
Various speakers had expressed apprehensions about the companies taking undue benefit from petroleum prices.
The minister invited them to the Advisory Committee meeting if they want to see the price revision process.
He said the prices are revised in view of the fluctuation in the international market and keeping in view the last fifteen days prices.
He said the government is fully aware of the fact that increase in petroleum prices affects the poor people "but we cannot help it as we have to import 85 percent of our total needs from abroad." Only 15 per cent needs are met with indigenous exploration, he added.
The minister said after the deregulation in 2001, petroleum prices went up 34 times, reduced 21 times and nine times there had been no change.
About impact of increase in petroleum prices on the public transport fares, the minister said the federal government had suggested to the provincial governments to increase the fares by 10 to 15 percent when gasoline price surge by 50 paisa.
But there is a problem that the transporters enhance the fare with the prices but do not lower down when the gasoline prices are reduced, he added.
He said gasoline prices are not changed on the pressure of the World Bank or the IMF, rather it is our indigenous formula and if anything is saved, it goes to the Finance Ministry.
Nouraiz said prices in Pakistan are almost the same as in other Saarc countries with a minor difference. Except Iran, even in India, gasoline prices are higher than Pakistan.
"Despite all these facts, the government is ready to sit down with the members to chalk out a more favourable strategy," Nouraiz said.
Earlier, mover of the adjournment motion claimed there were flaws in the current price system and proposed representation of consumers on regulatory mechanism and constitution of a special committee to examine the issue in detail.
Khurshid urged that petroleum prices should be reviewed through annual budget rather than on fortnightly basis.
The other Senators who spoke on the motion included Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, Dr Nighat Agha, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed, Dr Abdullah Riar, Saadia Abbasi, Raza Muhammad Raza, Azam Khan Swati, Mohammad Ismail Buledi, Engineer Rukhsana Zuberi, Syed Hidayatullah Shah, Sanaullah Baloch, Abdul Razzaq Thahim, Mohim Khan Baloch, Professor Mohammad Saeed Siddiqui and Liaquat Ali Bangulzai.
They proposed reduction of taxes on petroleum products and quarterly revision of prices instead of fortnightly also calling for formulating a people-friendly petroleum policy and checking unnecessary increase in the prices.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2004

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