By Staff Reporter
Pakistan will keep its gas tariff unchanged for the next three months, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to ease the burden on consumers amid soaring living costs.
Malik told a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday the decision was part of efforts to avoid passing on additional costs to citizens, after the government announced a Rs50 billion subsidy for electricity consumers using up to 200 units.
The Punjab government has also relieved 98 percent of domestic electricity consumers using up to 500 units, with a Rs14 per unit subsidy.
Malik urged other provincial governments to follow suit.
The move comes as Pakistan grapples with high inflation, which surged to a record 38 percent in May before easing to 11.1 percent in July. The central bank has revised its inflation forecast upwards due to energy price hikes.
In February, Pakistan raised natural gas prices by up to 67 percent for residential consumers to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The gas price for the protected consumers category of up to 0.25 cubic hectometers (hm3) and up to 0.9 hm3 was increased to Rs200 from Rs121 and Rs350 from Rs300, or between 40 percent and 67 percent, while the rates for the non-protected category consuming up to 0.25 hm3 to above 4 hm3 was raised to Rs500 to Rs4,200, or between 5 percent to 25 percent.
The decision follows protests last month over rising living costs, which prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to announce a three-month subsidy for electricity consumers.
Malik denied reports of further increases, saying the government aimed to avoid raising gas prices.
“If the need arises to provide relief, we will make decisions in consultation with all provinces and move forward together,” he said. “Our aim is to avoid increasing gas prices.”
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