Fuel shock in Pakistan! Petrol up 43 pct, diesel soars 55 pct as Middle East war fallout hits hard

According to local media reports, the government announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD).

Under the revised rates, the ex-depot price of petrol has been increased by Rs137.23 per litre (42.7pc) to Rs458.41 from Rs321.17, while HSD has been raised by Rs184.49 per litre (55pc) to Rs520.35 from Rs335.86, with immediate effect, Dawn News reported.

Meanwhile, the price of kerosene has been hiked Rs34.08 per litre to Rs457.80.

Petroleum levy rates were adjusted to limit the increase in diesel prices and its impact on transportation and freight costs. The levy on petrol was increased to Rs160 per litre from Rs105, while it was reduced to zero on diesel from Rs55, sources told Dawn.

Speaking late at night in a national broadcast along with the finance minister, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told the newspaper the “difficult and responsible” decisions were taken after a national-level consultation involving the president, prime minister, military leadership and provincial chief ministers.

Prices of fuel started to hike after the US and Israel began sttriking Iran on February 28, leaving the Middle East in crisis.

Meanwhile, the Middle East crisis has lurched into its second month, prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to issue a stark warning on Thursday morning that the world is “on the edge of a wider war” with catastrophic global implications.

Speaking to the press outside the Security Council in New York, the UN chief painted a grim picture of the rapidly deteriorating situation, as Israel and the US continue to bomb Iran while Tehran carries out attacks on neighbouring Gulf States and threatens ships it deems hostile against using the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

“Every day this war continues, human suffering grows. The scale of devastation grows. Indiscriminate attacks grow,” Guterres stated, noting that the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as general perils to the world economy – especially the most vulnerable societies which depend on energy imports – are mounting daily.