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Day after dropping ‘gas bomb’, govt decides not to increase petrol, diesel prices

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  • Rates will remain in place till November 15.
  • HSD will be available at Rs303.18 per litre.
  • Price of kerosene and light diesel oil slashed.

ISLAMABAD: Providing relief to the inflation-hit people a day after dropping a ‘gas bomb’, the caretaker government Tuesday maintained the price of petrol at Rs283.38 per litre.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the price of petrol is Rs283.38 per litre and Rs303.18 per litre for HSD. The rates will remain in place till November 15.

ProductsExisting priceNew priceIncrease/decrease
PetrolRs283.38Rs283.38Rs0
High Speed Diesel (HSD) 303.18303.18Rs0
Kerosene oilRs214.85Rs211.03Rs-3.82
Light diesel oilRs192.86Rs189.46Rs-3.40

The government, however, also cut the prices of light diesel by Rs3.40 per litre and kerosene oil by Rs3.82 per litre for the next fortnight. After the reduction in the prices of petroleum products, the rate of kerosene oil has dropped to Rs211.03 per litre and light diesel oil to Rs189.46 per litre.

The interim government is charging zero general sales tax (GST) on all petroleum products while the rate of petroleum levy (PL) on petrol is Rs60 per litre.

In the last fortnight, the government had dropped the petrol price by Rs40 per litre and HSD by Rs15 per litre.

The federal cabinet had Monday sharply increased the natural gas tariff by up to 172% for domestic consumers, tandoors, and general industries, including export-oriented sectors, captive power plants, CNG and IPPs, and commercial sectors.

The new prices will be effective from November 1. The substantial increase was aimed to comply with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demand, which asked the government to increase gas tariffs to control the gas sector’s circular debt, which is Rs2.1 trillion.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) also reduced the rates of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for November.

The rate has been dropped by Rs9.69 per kg to 251.03, a notification from the regulator said.

It added that as a result of the decrease, the rate for domestic cylinders has fallen by Rs117.47. Now, it said, an 11kg cylinder will be available at Rs2962.17.

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SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

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Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

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Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

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A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

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The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

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The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.

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