- RLNG connections will soon be restored, announces the minister.
- Government provided more relief than reduction in global prices, says Malik
- Cameras installed in textile factories to address FBR concerns.
Federal Oil Minister Ali Pervez Malik on Sunday said Pakistan was considering buying cheap oil and gas from Iran after the end of the Iran-US war and end of restrictions on Tehran.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, the minister said prices of petroleum products reached Rs 460 per liter in April, at the height of the Iran-US conflict, but global prices have since fallen significantly.
Washington and Tehran signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” at Burgenstock in Switzerland on June 17, largely thanks to Pakistan’s mediation.
Under the agreement, the United States committed to immediately granting sanctions waivers through the Department of the Treasury for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, as well as all related services, including banking, insurance and transportation, until sanctions are lifted.
Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif immediately passed on the benefits to the public, adding that the relief brought to consumers was even greater than the reduction seen in global markets. “We gave people more benefits than what the international market offered,” he said.
The minister said the government had made significant reductions in the prices of petrol and diesel, adding that every Pakistani had gone through a difficult time. “Difficult times only last a short time. Thank God that time has passed and better days are coming,” he said.
He said the government remains active in pushing for further reductions in oil prices and will bring them down further as global markets normalize, while remaining within existing international agreements.
He dismissed reports of misleading information being spread about oil prices, saying some elements were trying to confuse the public.
Regarding the oil companies, he said no formal letters had been received from them but their representatives had met with him and expressed their concerns, which he said he had listened to.
Malik said he had installed cameras in his own textile factories in a bid to bring transparency and address the concerns of the Federal Board of Revenue. He called for cameras to also be installed in ginning factories on the same grounds.
He also announced that RLNG connections, which had been suspended, would be restored soon.
