{"id":46320,"date":"2026-04-04T15:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=46320"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:04:27","slug":"abbasi-criticises-govt-over-inconsistent-policies-calls-for-fuel-price-deregulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=46320","title":{"rendered":"Abbasi criticises govt over inconsistent policies, calls for fuel price deregulation"},"content":{"rendered":"
Awaam Pakistan President and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday criticised the government over what he described as flawed governance and inconsistent policymaking, urging authorities to deregulate petrol prices and promote electric vehicles (EVs) to ease the country\u2019s economic burden.<\/p>\n

The criticism came\u00a0after the government on Thursday increased the petrol price by Rs137 per litre, taking it to a record Rs458.4; however, a day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a televised address, announced a Rs80 per litre reduction in the petroleum levy on petrol, bringing its price down to Rs378 per litre.<\/p>\n

Read: PM announces Rs80 cut in petroleum levy, lowering petrol price to Rs378 per litre<\/p>\n

Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club today, Abbasi said that no country in the world fixed\u00a0oil prices administratively, as these were determined by market forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cPetrol prices should be deregulated and left to private companies to import and sell fuel,\u201d he said, adding that a similar discussion had taken place in parliament in 2018, and the decision was considered appropriate.<\/p>\n

He maintained that a competitive market environment already exists and that deregulation would yield immediate results. \u201cYou will begin to see a difference from day one,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

Abbasi noted that petrol and diesel cannot be sold below their purchase cost, recalling that a similar attempt had been made in 2022. He said such decisions must be taken in light of ground realities, particularly during periods of global uncertainty when prices fluctuate.<\/p>\n

The former premier also criticised the absence of a consistent long-term policy, pointing to abrupt changes in fuel prices. \u201cPetrol and diesel prices went up to Rs450, and within 24 hours they were reduced again,\u201d he said, adding that Pakistan had yet to formulate a stable policy framework, particularly for electric motorcycles.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Govt triggers fuel shockwave with massive price hike<\/p>\n

He observed that despite a decline in the cost of electric motorcycles, policy failures had made both conventional fuel and electric vehicles expensive. \u201cThis reflects our policy shortcomings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Highlighting the burden on citizens, Abbasi said an average motorcycle user spends around Rs7,000 per month on fuel, of which approximately Rs3,000 goes to the government in the form of taxes. \u201cThis is a tax that can be easily collected from the common man, but not from shopkeepers or parliamentarians,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He further criticised what he termed ad hoc decision-making, saying that minor reductions in fuel prices \u2014 such as Rs80 \u2014 offer little real relief to the public. While acknowledging that global fuel prices were high, he stressed that domestic policy failures also contribute to the crisis.<\/p>\n

Referring to recent official statements, he said concerns about disruptions such as halted shipping routes were also being cited, but insisted that internal issues remained central.<\/p>\n

Abbasi emphasised the need to strengthen the economy through structural reforms. \u201cDeregulate petrol and promote electric vehicles by reducing their prices. This can begin to reduce the burden by $6 billion,\u201d he said, citing China\u2019s example as a successful model.<\/p>\n

He also criticised subsidy-based approaches, warning that distributing funds increased\u00a0corruption without addressing underlying issues. \u201cWe say we will give money to farmers \u2014 even Rs200 billion \u2014 but handouts are not a solution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On renewable energy, Abbasi said Pakistan had witnessed a \u201csolar revolution\u201d driven by the public rather than government policy. He claimed that around 26,000 megawatts of solar capacity had been added without prior planning or a clear policy framework.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awaam Pakistan President and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday criticised the government over what he described as flawed governance and inconsistent policymaking, urging authorities to deregulate petrol prices and promote electric vehicles (EVs) to ease the country\u2019s economic burden. The criticism came\u00a0after the government on Thursday increased the petrol price by Rs137 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}