PM decides not to increase petroleum prices

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Mar, 2026) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has once again decided against increasing petroleum prices despite a sharp rise in international oil rates, saying the government cannot place an additional burden on the people, particularly ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Addressing the nation on Friday night , the prime minister said the ongoing war in the region had made the global oil situation extremely alarming, with Gulf crude prices rising from 72 Dollars per barrel a few weeks ago to 158 dollars per barrel within just three weeks. He warned that if the situation continued to worsen, further increases in international oil prices could not be ruled out.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said the steep rise in global oil prices was causing a fresh wave of inflation around the world and directly affecting ordinary citizens. He acknowledged that the earlier increase of Rs 55 per litre in petroleum prices at the beginning of March had already put immense pressure on household budgets and caused serious hardship for many families.

The prime minister said that after the March 13 increase in global oil prices, he had rejected a proposal to raise petrol prices by Rs 50 per litre and diesel by Rs 74 per litre. Instead, he said, the Federal government absorbed the burden of around Rs 24 billion by making budgetary cuts and limiting development expenditures so that no further burden was passed on to the people of the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He further said that during the current week, the international market had witnessed another steep jump in oil prices and he was advised to increase petrol by Rs 76 per litre and diesel by Rs177 per litre. However, keeping in view the difficult economic conditions and the approaching Eid-ul-Fitr, he once again rejected the proposal and decided that the federal government would bear an additional burden of around Rs 45 billion for the coming week.

The prime minister said protecting the underprivileged sections of society and shielding them from the crushing impact of rising prices remained the government’s top priority. He noted that over the past two weeks, the federal government had spent Rs 79 billion from its budget and development allocations to prevent a cumulative increase of Rs127 per litre in petrol and Rs 252 per litre in diesel prices, terming it the largest such intervention in recent history.

At the same time,PM Shehbaz Sharif admitted that this was not a permanent solution and said the government was working on a comprehensive and transparent mechanism to ensure that relief measures reached only those who genuinely deserved them. He said relevant ministries had been directed to devise a system to prevent affluent sections from benefiting equally from relief intended for the poor and middle class.

Calling for national unity and restraint, the prime minister urged citizens to adopt simplicity, avoid unnecessary expenditures and support efforts aimed at easing the burden on weaker segments of society. He said the government had already launched an austerity campaign at the official level and added that he was personally monitoring these measures daily to ensure responsible use of national resources.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed hope that the ongoing regional conflict would be resolved peacefully at the earliest and prayed for Pakistan’s progress, stability and prosperity, as well as relief for the Muslim Ummah in the face of current challenges.