ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr. Miftah Ismail Ahmed has said that in Pakistan petrol prices are fixed in the light of average purchase price of Pakistan State Oil (PSO).
Petrol prices in Pakistan
This was stated by Miftah Isamail during in an interview with a private TV channel. Miftah Ismail said his resignation can be taken just with one WhatsApp call, and continued that if Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif or his Principal Secretary Dr. Tauqeer Hussain Shah calls his to resign, he will go home after resigning from the current position. He said that prices of petroleum products were increased with the signatures of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif despite the fact that his recommendations are also included in it.
He said that tough decisions politically damaged to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Maulana Fazalur Rehman and Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui; however, all the allies agreed on a point that after coming into power they will save the country from being bankrupt, adding this duty has been assigned to him which he is fulfilling.
Miftah Ismail said that although petrol prices decreased during the previous week in the international market but the oil which will be sold during the coming two weeks that was not purchased during the last week as some was purchased three or four or six weeks ago, adding there is also stock of 15 to 20 days.
Importantly there is no increase of even a single penny of tax, he said, and continued he has been given the responsibility of Finance Minister as well as respect; hence, it is necessary to carry on its burden. He said he supports all those decisions taken by the incumbent government.
The minister for finance and revenue said that they will have to take prudent decisions in case they have to remain into the power otherwise “we should leave the power” as they were never forced to come into the power. He said, “We reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to not provide subsidy on the petroleum products and signed a schedule to impose tax with the IMF.”
He said when they came into power they had $10 billion reserves while they had to pay $21 billion wherein $ 3 billion had to be paid immediately. He said when they visited the friendly countries, all of them asked us to develop consensus with the IMF as no one wants Pakistan heads towards bankruptcy.
The minister said he is not taking decisions on his own as it is not possible to take decisions without bringing them into the knowledge of Shehbaz Sharif and continued that saying this is just like that Shehbaz Sharif takes decisions without approval of the Federal Cabinet.
Miftah Ismail said that encouraging investors to come to Pakistan for the purpose of investment is always a good thing. He said that if a company’s one of out seven or eight directors is a foreigner it affects performance of the company.
He said that the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not work in its three years and nine month’s term either it is matter of laying a gas pipeline or installing power plant or bringing improvement in transmission lines. He said they know how to work, adding that they will show their work in the next one year. He said his major success was to save the country from being bankrupt under the leadership of Shehbaz Sharif and took the country towards the stability.
