After Steep Fuel Hike, Rs 28 Bn Pak Relief Package

After the Pakistani government removed fuel subsidies and increased the price of petrol by Rs 30, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a package of Rs 28 billion to provide relief to the poor from rising prices. As part of the package, 13 million poor families across the country will get Rs 2,000 each, Sharif said in his first address to the nation. “We took the tough decision to increase fuel prices as global prices are rising… the previous government provided subsidies on fuel for political gains.” He informed the people that government-run utility stores across the country had been directed to sell a 10 kg bag of flour at Rs 400. Blaming the earlier Imran Khan-led government for the state of the country’s economy, Sharif said the PTI regime accepted the tough conditions of the International Monetary Fund which he said made the lives of the masses miserable. Without naming Imran, Shehbaz alleged that lies were told to the nation about a “foreign conspiracy” to further “political goals”. Pakistan would be run according to the Constitution, not according to the desires of an individual, he said.