Opposition chides, govt defends increase in oil prices

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the National Assembly on Monday slammed sharp increase in petroleum prices while the government defended the decision which it said was warranted by fluctuation in international oil market.

At the very outset of the proceedings, opposition lawmaker Shahid Khatak demanded suspension of question hour to discuss hike in petroleum prices, with many other members of the House supporting the view and subsequently the question hour was suspended.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told the House that oil prices substantially increased in the global market after the US-Israeli war against Iran, but the government bore the burden of rising oil prices for three weeks, coming to Rs50-60 billion per week.

He said the national leadership, in consultation with the provinces, decided to increase petroleum prices while providing targeted subsidies to vulnerable segments of society.

Petroleum minister tells lawmakers oil being imported via Yanbu and Fujairah ports, too

The minister said the country meets 80 to 90 per cent of its petroleum demand through imports. He said the war in the Middle East has adversely affected global energy supply chains.

He further said the government has ensured an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products by using alternative routes. He said Pakistan is now importing oil via the Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia and Fujairah port in the UAE through Oman. He said the cost of insurance and transportation has also gone up because of the war.

He said while the high price of oil was a challenge, there was no shortage of petroleum products in the country.

Fertiliser stocks

Regarding fertiliser availability, Ali Pervaiz Malik said an uninterrupted gas supply was being ensured to all 10 fertiliser factories. He said the prime minister has issued directives to maintain fertiliser availability at Rs4,500 per bag. Briefing the House on the targeted subsidy, the minister said millions of rupees were being disbursed to motorcyclists, passengers, goods transporters, and farmers through digital wallets. He asked members to check their mobile phones for crude oil prices, saying crude oil had gone from $70 to $170. PTI’s parliamentary leader Shahid Khattak raised the issue of increase in petroleum prices.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq allowed the opposition member to speak on the issue. JUI’s Noor Alam Khan also raised the issue, asking the finance minister to explain why petroleum prices were increased if the economy was growing. MQM’s Aminul Haque demanded a discussion on the issue.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said they would have a discussion on petroleum prices instead of pointing fingers. PPP’s Naveed Qamar said the House represents the whole country, and if they don’t take the House into confidence, what would happen? The House suspended the Question Hour for a discussion on petroleum prices. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb gave a policy statement, saying they planned immediately after the Iran attack and had been taking measures for five weeks.

Petroleum Minister Ali Amin Khan briefed the House, saying they took measures to protect people from price shocks and provided over Rs100 billion in subsidies. He said the government bore the burden of prices for two to three weeks. Ali Amin Khan said they had to plan considering new circumstances, and the prices of everything had increased worldwide. He thanked the Saudi government for providing oil through special routes.

Highest in region

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali wanted to know why the increase in petroleum prices was highest in the region. He said India asked the petroleum companies to lower their profit margin and questioned as to why it was not done by Pakistan.

He accused the government of punishing the people for not voting for it. He also chided Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for what he called “taxing the cow dung” to meet expenses of a recently purchased luxury jet. MQM parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar observed that the government needed to take extraordinary measures along with basic economic reforms to cope with the ongoing situation.

He proposed doing away with petroleum levy and heavy custom duties. “Every opposition party criticises petroleum levy but when it comes to government collects the same levy as easy money to generate revenue,” he said.

The MQM lawmaker also demanded the government to expand tax collection net by taxing every taxable income to provide relief to the masses. Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of PPP criticised the government for increase in prices of diesel and petrol saying the decision had put people in great trouble.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2026