ISLAMABAD – In a press conference held late Thursday, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, accompanied by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, announced a historic increase in petroleum prices, citing the catastrophic impact of the ongoing Gulf War on global energy markets.
The Minister informed the nation that international crude oil prices have surged past the $250 per barrel mark, creating an unprecedented “earthquake” in global energy costs. “The regional situation has forced the government to take difficult and responsible decisions,” Malik stated, emphasising that the current crisis is a global phenomenon affecting every nation.
To mitigate the impact, the government has implemented a strict austerity policy, including the grounding of 60% of the official government vehicle fleet. Despite these measures, the sheer scale of the international price surge made a domestic price adjustment unavoidable. Minister Malik called for national unity during these challenging times, noting that the government has worked to minimise the burden through expenditure cuts before passing the remaining costs to the public.
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