- RLNG connections will be restored soon, minister announces.
- Government approved more relief than global price reduction: Malik
- Cameras installed in textile factories to address concerns about FBR.
Federal Oil Minister Ali Pervez Malik said on Sunday that Pakistan was considering buying cheap oil and gas from Iran following the end of the Iran-US war and the end of restrictions on Tehran.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, the minister said prices of petroleum products had reached Rs 460 per liter in April at the height of the conflict between Iran and the United States, but global prices had since fallen significantly.
Washington and Tehran signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on June 17, largely mediated by Pakistan.
Under the agreement, the United States committed to immediately issue sanctions waivers through the Treasury Department for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, along with all related services, including banking, insurance and transportation, until sanctions are ended.
Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had immediately passed on the benefit to the public, adding that the relief provided to consumers was even greater than the reduction seen in global markets. “We gave people more benefits than the international market offered,” he said.
The minister said the government had made significant reductions in petrol and diesel prices, adding that all Pakistanis had gone through a difficult period. “Tough times don’t last long; thank God, that time has passed and better days are coming,” he said.
He said the government remained active on further reductions in oil prices and would lower them further as global markets normalize, while staying within the framework of existing international agreements.
He dismissed reports of the spread of misleading information on oil prices, saying certain elements were trying to confuse the public on the matter.
Regarding the oil companies, he said that no formal letter had been received from them, but that their representatives had met with him and shared their concerns, which he said he had heard.
Malik said he had installed cameras in his own textile factories with the aim of providing transparency and addressing the concerns of the Federal Board of Revenue. He asked that cameras also be installed in ginning factories on the same land.
He also announced that RLNG connections, which had been suspended, will soon be restored.
