Tag: Pakistan Government

Pakistan: Increase In Petrol And Diesel Price

By LokMarg

Pakistan government has announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices by Pakistan rupees (PKR) 35 per litre. Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar made the announcement regarding the increase in fuel prices and it has come into effect from 11 am on January 29, Dawn reported.

Ishaq Dar made the announcement in a televised address on Sunday. He said that the price of kerosene oil and light diesel oil were increased by PKR 18 per litre. Pakistan Finance Ministry in a tweet said that the new price of petrol is PKR 249.80 per litre and diesel is PKR 262.80 per litre.
“We have decided to increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 35. The price of kerosene oil and light diesel oil has been increased by Rs18,” Dar said, adding that the new prices would come into effect at 11 am today.

Pakistan Finance Ministry tweeted, “Govt announced new prices of Petroleum Products with effect from 11.00 hrs, 29 Jan, 2023. High Speed Diesel-Rs 262.80 per litre MS Petrol –Rs 249.80 per litre Kerosene Oil -Rs 189.83 per litre Light Diesel Oil – Rs 187 per litre.”

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stressed that the government has decided to increase the minimum price of these four products according to the instruction given by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Dawn.

Ishaq Dar said that the Pakistani rupee witnessed devaluation last week and they are witnessing an 11 per cent rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market. He said that the price of petrol was not increased since October.

“The Pakistani rupee saw devaluation last week […] and now we are seeing an 11 per cent increase in the prices of petroleum products in the international market,” Dawn quoted Ishaq Dar as saying.

“Despite international prices and rupee devaluation, on directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we have decided to increase the minimum price of these four products,” he added.

Ishaq Dar expressed hope that the announcement of new prices will dispel rumours about the shortage of petrol supplies, as per the news report. He said that there were speculations on social media that the price of petrol and diesel will be increased by Rs 50. According to Dawn, Ishaq Dar said, “Because of this, we have received reports of artificial shortages in the market.”

Ahead of Dar’s announcement, rumours of a massive increase in petrol prices led to long queues at petrol pumps in many parts of Pakistan. Reports posted on social media had said that the price of petrol and diesel were expected to increase between Rs 45 to Rs 80 on February 1.

“We saw a report on social media that oil prices will go up due to the surge in the dollar’s value and international petroleum rates,” Dawn quoted Hassan, who queued at a petrol pump.

Petrol was available at only 20 per cent of the petrol pumps in Gujranwala. The shortages of fuel were reported in Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot and Faisalabad regions of Pakistan, Dawn cited Geo News report. (ANI)

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Pak Govt Raises Prices

Pak Govt Raises Prices Of Flour, Ghee, Sugar In Utility Stores

By LokMarg

The Pakistan government has increased the prices of wheat flour, sugar, and ghee by 25 to 62 percent for sale through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) with immediate effect to reduce the impact of untargeted subsidies, reported The Dawn.

The Dawn report said, “The beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be exempt from the price increase, while the limit for subsidized purchases from the USC has also been curtailed.”

The USC notified the new rates on Saturday, New Year’s Eve after the country’s federal cabinet approved Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s recommendation to clear a hybrid model of subsidies involving targeted and untargeted elements of the prime minister’s relief package.

The price of sugar under the new rates has increased to Rs89 per kg from Rs70 per kg, an increase of 27 percent. The price of ghee has increased to Rs375 per kg from Rs75 per kg. The Wheat flour price has increased to Rs64.8 per kg from Rs40 per kg, a 62 percent increase.

Special, targeted subsidies will, however, be available to the poor populations registered in the BISP’s scorecard and below PMT-32 (Proxy Means Test to describe people below the poverty line), the USC said.

They would get wheat flour at Rs400 per 10 kg bag, ghee at Rs300 per kg, and sugar at Rs70 per kg. A discount of Rs15-20 per kg on pulses and rice will be available to them.

“However, their monthly purchasing limits have been capped to avoid the misuse of subsidies. Therefore, BISP beneficiaries under PMT-32 would be allowed to purchase a maximum of 40kg of wheat flour, 5kg of sugar, and 5kg of ghee per month,” reported The Dawn.

The Dawn report said: “All other USC customers would now be provided wheat flour at Rs648 per 10kg bag, and ghee and sugar at Rs375 and Rs89 per kg, respectively.”

There will be a limit on the monthly purchase of these customers. They would not be allowed to avail more than 20kg of flour and Rs3kg each for sugar and ghee per month.

Earlier, they were eligible for 40kg of flour and 5 kg each of ghee and sugar.

The people of this category were earlier eligible for 40kg of flour and 5kg each for ghee and sugar.

The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the USC, will be provided wheat flour at Rs400 per 10kg bag through designated sales points and mobile utility stores.

USC customers before visiting the store will be required to secure their monthly purchase eligibility through an SMS on 5566. They will then be provided with a one-time password and national identity confirmation to avail of the subsidy. (ANI)

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pakistan government

Pakistan Govt, Oppn Try To Reach Consensus On New Army Chief

By LokMarg

The coalition government in Pakistan has initiated dialogue with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), The Express Tribune newspaper reported citing sources.

The report said that this move follows the meeting between Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and President Arif Alvi on Friday. Dar offered dialogue to resolve political issues, the sources said. Meanwhile, the Pakistan President, a member of PTI, told him his message would be conveyed to the party leadership which has shown a willingness to hold talks.

Dar held two meetings with the president in the last three days.

“The PTI wants the announcement of a date for the early general elections. If the government agrees, then the PTI is willing to rejoin parliament for a dialogue on the electoral framework,” the Tribune newspaper quoted the sources as saying.

According to the report, the purpose of the meeting between the finance minister and the president was to ensure that the process regarding the appointment of a new army chief would culminate smoothly.

Ahead of the deadline for installing a new army chief, the political standoff between the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Imran Khan has polarized the country and threatened to erupt in violence.

“The battlelines are sharply drawn now, making the situation untenable,” Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, wrote in an op-ed this week, as quoted by The Washington Post.

According to Lodhi, the former Pakistan Prime Minster is making matters worse by “hurling allegations” at the army but also privately seeking its support.

The looming fear is that the situation will “snowball into civil strife,” Lodhi was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. (ANI)

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Pakistan Army Bans Pashto In Army Public Schools

By LokMarg

In a recent crackdown against one of Pakistan’s largest ethnic minorities, the Pakistan Army has banned Pashto in its Army Public Schools, reported local media.

As it has been banned now in many schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, students have been warned they would be fined if caught speaking in the language.
Several Pakistani journalists and political activists on social media condemned the move and said that the ban must be highlighted and stopped.

In a statement, the head of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, Manzoor Pashteen said in response to this action: “Pashto has been removed from the media, curriculum, justice, and politics for a long time, but in many schools, it is also forbidden to speak Pashto normally. We should learn many languages, but no one will ever ban Pashto, our mother tongue,” local media reported.

Pashteen further added and said that the national identity of the people will be lost if the language is lost by any means.

Earlier as well, the intellectuals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have urged the Pakistan government to declare Pashto as the medium of instruction in schools, however, the recent crackdown on language has sparked immense outrage across the nation.

Besides Peshawar, literary and cultural organizations in Swat, Malakand, Buner, Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Karak, and other tribal districts have organized events repeatedly to mark the importance of the mother tongue, Dawn reported. (ANI)

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Social Media MoS Chandrashekhar

Hate Spreading On Social Media Won’t Be Tolerated: MoS Chandrashekhar

By LokMarg

Union Minister of State Rajiv Chandrashekhar reacted to the Pakistan government’s Twitter handle being blocked in India and said that any account that spreads hate on social media will be blocked by the Indian government.

While talking to ANI, the MoS said, “Any account on Twitter or any other social media platform, which spreads fake news, propagates hate, and violates the law, won’t be allowed to function in the country.”
“There are 80 crore users connected to the Internet in the country, and we want it to grow to 120 crores. We want our Internet to be trusted. So if any handle is telling lies, or putting unlawful content, then we will definitely try to block it. We believe that the Internet should be used for people’s welfare and not for misguiding them,” Chandrashekhar said.

Earlier today, the Twitter account of the Pakistani government was withheld in India. This is reportedly the second such incident in recent months.

This account was withheld earlier in July as well but had been reactivated and was visible. Today, again the account displayed the message of being withheld in India.

“@GovtofPakistan account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand,” is seen while accessing the Twitter handle.

According to Twitter guidelines, the microblogging site takes such action in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order.

Currently, the Twitter feed of the Pakistan government “@GovtofPakistan” is not visible to Indian users.

Previously, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had blocked 16 YouTube news channels including six Pakistan-based channels for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order.

So far, the central government has blocked over 100 YouTube channels, 4 Facebook pages, 5 Twitter accounts, and 3 Instagram accounts for spreading hate content against India. (ANI)