A petition has been filed in the Federal Constitutional Court challenging the latest increase in petroleum product prices in Pakistan. The government raised petrol prices by Rs6.51 per litre and diesel prices by Rs19.39 per litre.
The petition argues that the recent price hike constitutes exploitation of citizens. It requests the government to fix petrol and diesel prices at Rs200 per litre.
Pakistan consumes roughly 240,000 barrels (38 million litres) of petrol each day. A Rs55 increase in petrol generates approximately Rs2.1 billion daily, or over Rs63 billion monthly.
The situation worsened as diesel prices remained elevated compared to crude benchmarks. Reports indicate that diesel was roughly Rs30 per litre overpriced.
The government previously introduced a temporary cost-plus pricing model for three months, but critics say this did not resolve the issue. Authorities were alerted early but failed to act in time, allowing the financial impact to shift to consumers.
Refineries reportedly earned extra earnings of around Rs60 billion due to high diesel margins in March. Critics are now calling for stronger regulatory action to align local prices with crude oil rates.
The petition also contends that the government should ensure the import of petroleum products from Iran to stabilize local prices.
