LAHORE: Federal Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik walked into a Lahore press briefing Sunday and said something Pakistani governments rarely say out loud: we gave the public more than the international market required us to give. The numbers back him up and the backstory behind those numbers runs through a US-Iran war, a diplomatic breakthrough brokered partly by Islamabad, and a petrol price that once hit Rs458 per litre.
Effective June 20, the government slashed petrol by Rs74 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs67 per litre one of the largest fuel price cuts in recent years. Petrol, which had climbed as high as Rs458.41 per litre during peak regional tensions, fell to Rs299.78 per litre. Malik on Sunday said the reduction delivered to consumers exceeded what the movement in international benchmark prices alone would have justified framing it as a deliberate policy choice, not a mechanical pass-through.
“Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif transferred the benefit to the public immediately,” Malik told reporters in Lahore. “We gave the people more relief than the global market dictated.”
Pakistan Petrol Price Cut Explained
Context is important here. The Petroleum Division of Pakistan was having trouble with supply issues as the tensions between the US and Iran affected oil supplies in the Strait of Hormuz. In April, petrol became the most expensive at Rs458.4 per litre. Then the petroleum duty was slashed by Rs80 to Rs378 per litre. After that, more cuts were made weekly as the situation in the global market improved. The Rs74 cut in June 20 was the most significant one in the whole process.
Also Read: Why Petrol Didn’t Get Cheaper Despite Higher Government Earnings
Global markets reacted positively when there was no problem for the tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan’s diplomatic role in the US-Iran settlement gave Islamabad both political cover and practical leverage crude costs fell, import premiums eased, and the Petroleum Division moved quickly.
Ali Pervaiz Malik Defends Fuel Relief
Malik on Sunday credited the army, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Chief Minister Punjab for maintaining order during Muharram’s first ten days, then pivoted to the economic argument: with regional conflict over and global oil prices falling, the government chose to pass on savings that exceeded the market movement itself absorbing some of the cost within the pricing structure rather than banking it.
He also pushed back at critics. Some elements, he said, deliberately mislead the public on petroleum pricing. He did not name them.
Pakistan Petrol Price Today
According to reports from June 27, the rates of petrol and diesel remained unchanged at Rs299.50 and Rs311.47 per litre, respectively, with the next assessment expected on July 3. After the tension between Iran and US, OGRA now assesses oil prices on a weekly basis instead of biweekly.
The arithmetic of what came before makes the current price feel like relief because it is. A driver filling a 40-litre tank today pays Rs11,980 instead of the Rs18,336 they paid at the April peak. That Rs6,356 difference is real money in a country where per-capita income leaves most households with little margin for fuel shocks.
What’s Next for Petroleum Prices Pakistan?
Malik confirmed Pakistan will stay within existing international commitments on petroleum agreements while pushing the new energy security framework forward. A high-level committee, announced last week, is working on a pricing formula to prevent a repeat of the supply crisis that sent petrol past Rs450 for the first time in the country’s history. Malik also hit back at unnamed elements he accused of deliberately spreading misinformation about petroleum pricing. He confirmed Pakistan will honour its existing international energy agreements while actively exploring options to purchase cheaper oil and gas from Iran.
The government’s version of events that it gave more than the market required carries a political logic as much as an economic one. Pakistan absorbed significant public anger during the price spike. Returning more than market math demands on the way down is how governments try to rebuild that goodwill. Whether the July 3 review maintains current rates or cuts further depends on where Brent crude trades in the days ahead.
