
- Pakistan has enough reserves for the moment, but prices can increase if world rates increased.
- The PM forms a panel to monitor fuel prices, ensure the offer in the Iran-Israel war.
- Finine, the opposition warns that the conflict could deepen the budget and trade deficits.
Islamabad: Authorities have warned that internal fuel prices can increase in accordance with the world market, where oil has jumped by 16% due to the Iran-Israel war, without intention to reduce the deduction of oil development (PDL).
Reuters The world oil prices said fluctuated on Monday after having increased by 7% on Friday, while strikes renewed by Israel and Iran during the weekend aroused fears of a wider regional conflict which could disrupt oil exports of the Middle East.
Brent -up to 6 cents, 0.08%, to $ 74.29 per barrel, while the West Texas Brent Contracts has won 21 cents or 0.29%, $ 73.19 $ 73.19. They had increased more than $ 4 per barrel earlier in the session and also fell briefly on a negative territory.
At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Finance Assembly, chaired by Naveed Qamar on Monday, the finance secretary, Imdadullah Bosal, said that Pakistan had enough oil reserves for the moment, but stressed that if the world prices continue to climb, local prices should be adjusted as a result.
“We are watching closely,” he said. “But if the rates are increasing internationally, we will also have to increase ours and the deduction remains in place.”
The head of the opposition, Omar Ayub, also took the alarm concerning the aggravation prospects, claiming that Pakistan is already taken in an interior debt trap and that the conflict is likely to influence both the budgetary deficit and the commercial gap.
In a rare moment of unit, the Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb agreed to evaluate the opposition and confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has trained a high -level committee to monitor prices and stocks of oil.
“The committee has already met today (Monday),” he said.
Ayub went further, calling the regional crisis a tilting point. “The situation is deteriorating quickly. The world is heading for a wider war, and everything could be swept away,” he warned.
The Middle East was plunged into a new perilous chapter of war after an unprecedented climbing of hostilities between Israel and Iran on Friday.
An Israeli strike not caused on the main military and nuclear figures of Iran in the darkness of the night quickly turned into a conflict in its own right, with heavy exchanges on both sides and regional stability in danger.
Earlier in the day, the Minister of Finance chaired the inaugural meeting of a high -level committee trained to monitor oil prices in the middle of regional tension, which carried out a detailed assessment of the world and national petroleum market situation.
In response to the evolution of the geopolitical situation following the recent attack of Israel against Iran and the volatility which results from it in the international oil markets, the Prime Minister was a high -level committee to monitor the prices of oil products and the dynamics of the offer, said a press release.
The Committee is chaired by the Financial TSAR and includes main representatives of the main federal ministries, regulatory authorities and energy sector experts.
The Committee has expressed its satisfaction that Pakistan is currently holding adequate stocks of petroleum products and that there is no immediate risk of supply disruption. Nevertheless, the members underlined the need for continuous vigilance given the rapidly evolving regional context.
To guarantee a timely response and effective coordination, a working group will monitor developments daily, and the full committee will meet each week to examine the situation and submit recommendations to the Prime Minister.
The oil division has been appointed to provide support for the secretariat and ensure effective implementation of the committee’s mandate.
The government remains fully determined to maintain energy security, stabilize markets and protect national interest during this critical period, according to the press release.
The Committee was responsible for closely monitoring the prices of the before / ultimately products of petroleum products and the predictability of the supply chain taking into account the current conflict in the region, in addition to determining the Forex implications for the valve and medium -term price volatility.