Finance Minister Miftah Ismail rules out ‘immediate’ increase in petrol prices

• Miftah Ismail urges people to stop filling their petrol tanks.
• OGRA spokesperson says that there is no shortage of diesel or petrol in the country.
• Miftah Ismail also clarifies that govt does not plan to reverse the SBP (Amendment) Bill, 2021 now.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail Monday announced that the price of petroleum products would not be increased "immediately", denying all claims regarding the petrol price hike that led to a massive increase in demand.

Speaking during Geo News programme "Capital Talk", Ismail urged people to stop filling their petrol tanks out of panic as prices will not be increased immediately.

It is worth mentioning that due to the shortage of diesel in various cities of Punjab, long queues were witnessed at petrol stations.

Read more: Pakistan makes headway as IMF agrees to give another $2b

Moreover, petrol stations have stopped selling diesel in the southern districts of Punjab. The Petroleum Association said that the companies have stopped the supply amid news that the price of petroleum products would increase.

Meanwhile, officials of the Kissan Ittehad have also complained that due to the non-availability of diesel, the wheat crop was being affected.

Dismissing the rumours of a potential price hike, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority's (OGRA) spokesperson said that there is no shortage of diesel or petrol in the country. 

“Rumours are being spread in some places; however, OGRA is closely monitoring the situation,” the spokesperson added.

'No plans to reverse SBP bill'

The finance minister also mentioned that any law that can harm relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would not be amended.

Read more: IMF team to visit Pakistan in May after holding meetings with Finance Minister Miftah Ismail

“The government does not plan to reverse the State Bank (Amendment) Bill, 2021; however, the government will see after the IMF programme is completed next year,” Ismail added.

Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said he believes the laws that the previous government amended to meet the IMF's conditions were wrong and needed to be reserved.