Malik Khuda Bakhsh, President of the Pakistan Business Forum (Karachi Region) and Convener of the Energy Standing Committee of FPCCI, has proposed to the government that petroleum prices should be fixed and frozen for one year. He suggested that new prices should be determined in the next annual budget. He further recommended that the savings made by the government from stable fuel prices should be used to reduce electricity tariffs and interest rates. He said this would help lower inflation without putting pressure on the national treasury.
Malik Khuda Bakhsh highlighted that tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump had adverse effects on stock exchanges, gold markets, and other sectors across the globe, including Pakistan. The petroleum industry was also affected, with global prices dropping. He compared the current scenario with the COVID-19 period, when petroleum prices fell below those of mineral water, and many people in Pakistan defaulted on bank loans. Only countries with proper price control and supply-demand systems could cope during that time.
In his proposal to the government, Malik Khuda Bakhsh emphasized that instead of revising fuel prices every 15 days, they should be frozen for one year, as practiced in many other countries. He referenced a recent instance when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided not to reduce fuel prices despite global reductions and instead passed on the benefit to the public by lowering electricity rates. According to him, this not only helped the public but also brought stability to the petroleum industry.
He urged the government to link fuel prices with the annual budget, as was previously done, and maintain fixed prices for a year. There’s no fear of rising prices; rather, global prices are declining. If the government holds prices steady until the next fiscal budget and introduces a petroleum pricing mechanism within that budget, it would benefit both oil marketing companies (OMCs) and fuel station owners. They would no longer face uncertainty every two weeks and could plan more effectively regarding supply and demand. This would also protect their capital and reduce heavy financial losses.
Malik Khuda Bakhsh advised the government to use the currently low global oil prices and purchase petroleum for strategic reserves.
