Diesel price nears Rs400 as govt adds over a rupee to petrol, HSD rates

The government on Wednesday raised the price of petrol by Rs1. 85 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs1. 75, pushing the HSD rate to nearly Rs400. Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs377. 91 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs399. 82 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices are applicable for Oct 29 (Thursday). On Tuesday, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss his party’s demand to provide relief to the public by abolishing the levy.

The two sides agreed to form a joint committee of the JI and the government to consider the expansion of the ongoing fuel relief scheme , being offered to owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and vehicles of up to 800cc since Sept 17 . For his part, Rehman declared that his party would march to Islamabad in protest of the petroleum levy in mid-November if the government did not announce any major relief by then. On Friday, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association had urged consumers not to resort to panic buying, as excessive purchases could create market distortions. The same day, senators raised concerns over fuel supply even after Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani said that there were no supply issues. The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520. 35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on Feb 28. The petrol price had peaked at Rs458. 41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March. Meanwhile, the government has reintroduced a raft of austerity measures in response…