ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said Pakistan continued to play an active role in efforts to restore regional peace and reduce tensions, highlighting recent diplomatic engagements involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
Addressing a cabinet meeting in Islamabad, the prime minister said, “Pakistani delegations had visited Tehran twice over the past two to three weeks as part of efforts to address the ongoing regional crisis”.
He said, “Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had visited Tehran, followed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi”. He also referred to visits by “Saudi Arabia’s defence minister and Turkiye’s Ibrahim Kalin,” saying positive discussions had taken place.According to the prime minister, the discussions focused not only on reducing regional tensions but also on enhancing mutual cooperation in connection with an agreement involving Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Federal Cabinet also ratified the defence cooperation agreement between Pakistan and Kuwait, which was finalised on June 11, 2023 “with the aim of promoting cooperation in defence sectors between the two brotherly countries.
He said international oil and energy prices had risen sharply because of instability in the region.Turning to petroleum prices, the prime minister said, “petrol prices had been expected to increase by Rs15 per litre the previous Friday.” He praised Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, his team, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the relevant committee for working with oil refineries to share their “windfall profits” instead of passing the entire increase on to consumers.
He said the government had decided that the “additional burden of Rs15 per litre should not be imposed on ordinary people.” The prime minister described the decision as “timely and commended” the Ministry of Energy for its efforts.
Referring to the government’s fuel subsidy programme, PM Shehbaz said the initiative had been successful and would continue at least until the end of December.
He said approximately “15 million people” had used their subsidy tokens and benefited from the programme. The prime minister said that, with an average household comprising five to six members, the programme had indirectly benefited approximately “75 million people”.
He said around “Rs28 billion had been spent on the initiative,” which he described as “successful and transparent”. PM Shehbaz said the “Intelligence Bureau (IB)” had been monitoring the programme and had identified irregularities at some petrol pumps. He directed the “petroleum minister to take strict action against the petrol pumps involved, including shutting them down and imposing heavy penalties”.
Turning to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector, the prime minister criticised the mafia that had dominated the business for decades and earned substantial profits. He said the government had introduced a “new mechanism to ensure competition and transparency in LPG imports and distribution”.
During the meeting, the prime minister asked the petroleum minister to name the state-owned companies involved in the new LPG arrangements. In response, the petroleum minister named Sui Southern Gas Company’s LPG subsidiary, Pakistan LNG Limited and PARCO Pearl Gas, would participate in the new arrangements.
Malik further said that “Pakistan required approximately 7,000 tonnes of LPG daily,” while domestic production stood at around “2,500 tonnes”. The prime minister said locally produced LPG would be offered through auctions in lots of five and 10 tonnes, with the first auction expected to take place the following week. He further said the auctions would be conducted under “camera surveillance to ensure transparency.”
PM Shehbaz added that imports would also be allowed under the competitive mechanism, while companies would display LPG prices and costs on their websites. He praised the “deputy prime minister, energy minister, finance minister and other officials for developing the new arrangements”. The prime minister said profits generated through the new LPG mechanism would go to the “government treasury and subsequently be used to subsidise LPG for ordinary consumers”.
