Pakistan Eyes IMF Bailout With Another Round Of Massive Fuel Price Hike, Prices Of Petrol And Diesel Increased By Rs 30 Per Litre

Just a week after unveiling a massive fuel price hike, Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Thursday (June 2) announced that the country's federal government will implement another round of price increase of all petroleum products by Rs.30.

After the latest round of hikes, petrol will be priced at Rs209.86, diesel at Rs204.15, kerosene oil at Rs181.94 and light diesel at Rs178.31.

On May 25, the federal government had announced an increase of prices of petroleum products by Rs.30 per litre.

The move is seen as a desperate effort by the cash-strapped government to slash the fuel subsidies in a bid to control the fiscal deficit and secure International Monetary Fund bailout money.

Ismail said the government was continuing to hold negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to finalise the bailout plan but claimed that his country will not accede to all the demands of the multilateral agency.

The minister said the government was "willing" to import oil [from Russia], provided "it does not come with sanctions".

The minister had earlier sought to blame former Prime Minister Imran Khan for freezing the petrol prices after "realising that the days of his government were numbered".

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has condemned the fuel price hike. He has urged his supporters to come out and protest after Friday prayers against the government's "anti-people policies of massive price hikes to crush the public and wreak economic havoc in the country".