Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Wednesday that keeping petroleum product prices low will not prompt people to change their lifestyles.
Speaking on the Samaa TV programme ‘Nadeem Malik Live’, the petroleum minister said that the situation in Iran had affected the entire region, and Pakistan must prepare itself for challenging circumstances. He emphasised that measures had to be taken which would be unavoidable immediately, and that the country must ready itself as for a test match. Petroleum prices were raised in one week, and the following week required similar increases.
Ali Pervaiz Malik said that the prime minister had consulted all provinces before initiating austerity measures, adding that the market was not stabilising, and crude oil was being imported from the GCC, with supplies arriving from Fujairah and Yangon.
He said that alternative arrangements had been made to avoid difficulties, adding that even if prices were kept low, people would not change their lifestyles.
Ali Pervaiz Malik said that he, together with the federal finance minister, had returned from consultations with chief ministers and Finance Ministers.
The petroleum minister said that petrol and diesel usage in the industry had decreased, and very few plants for furnace oil remained operational. "No plants operate on diesel or petrol in Pakistan. Investment had been made in thermal generation in recent years," he said.
Ali Pervaiz Malik said: "In Bangladesh, the military is deployed at petrol pumps and depots. Saudi Arabia had provided support. The public had borne a significant burden of petroleum products. Stocks of petrol and diesel exist, and the people will not face difficulties."
