Senate panel informed of PL hike before IMF meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan fulfilled the prerequisite of increasing the petroleum levy to Rs 160 per litre ahead of the IMF Board of Directors meeting, a move that secured the release of a USD1.2 billion tranche.

Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik informed a parliamentary panel on Monday. Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum held here under chairman Umer Farooq.

Among 18 surveyed countries, Pakistan’s petrol prices rank as the second highest, while High-Speed Diesel (HSD) remains in the middle tier, following price hikes of 56 percent and 48 percent respectively since February 28.

In contrast, petrol and HSD prices remained stable in neighbouring India and saw significantly lower increases in Bangladesh compared to Pakistan, according to the briefing to parliamentarians.

READ MORE: Petrol & diesel: Petroleum Levy hiked to meet IMF ‘terms’

The government is charging Rs 117.41 per litre levy on petrol and Rs 42.60 per litre on HSD. The minister explained that the government secured a one-month amnesty on the planned petroleum levy hike of Rs 80 per litre for petrol and HSD each. While the increase is a key IMF condition, the Prime Minister intervened to delay the implementation by 30 days due to the current national scenario, he added.

Responding to parliamentarians’ questions regarding price hike, Minister said that the government’s dependence on OMCs’ commercial reserves rather than independent strategic stocks leaves it vulnerable to market volatility. When international petrol and HSD prices jumped to $170 and $280 per barrel, he said the government had to increase consumer prices to provide OMCs with the liquidity required to restock their supplies.

He maintained that the government has released Rs 129 billion in Price Differential Claims (PDCs) to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). These funds will be disbursed to OMCs once the mandatory audit process is completed to verify the dues.

In a bid to reduce the strain on the national exchequer, the minister revealed that the government is moving toward petroleum deregulation. This is not unprecedented, as a similar deregulation model was successfully utilized during the Shaukat Aziz era.

The committee was further apprised that Pakistan’s LNG supply from Qatar begun returning to normal as a second Qatari tanker moves through the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing conflict risks. On Saturday, LNG tanker Al Kharaitiyat began crossing Hormuz through an Iranian-approved northern route and successfully crossed the strait on Sunday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026