The Friends of Economic and Business Reforms (FEBR) on Sunday welcomed the newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision of keeping oil prices unchanged for the rest of the month by rejecting the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s proposal to raise the rates of oil products.
FEBR President and LCCI former vice president Kashif Anwar observed that it was the first test for the new government to provide relief to the industry despite high oil rates in the global market.
Few days after the exit of the previous government, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had suggested an unprecedented increase of 83 percent in the prices of petroleum products with effect from April 16 to recover full imported cost, exchange rate loss and maximum tax rates.
But the new government remains successful in this test, providing another huge amount in subsidy from Apr 16 to 30 with a view to lower cost of production which is imperative for constant economic growth of Pakistan.
He said that the stable petroleum prices will not only provide the much-needed respite to the masses but also reduce the cost of production and give a boost to economic activity.
It is fact that the government was facing problems due to the former government’s mismanagement as they had set the price of petrol at Rs149, which burdened the national exchequer.
