Senior Bureacrats getting upto 800 Ltr free petrol: Miftah Ismail

Former finance minister of Pakistan, Miftah Ismail, has strongly criticised the government over raising petrol prices and public spending, saying the burden of rising costs is being placed on ordinary citizens while official expenses remain high.

Speaking on the ARY News program ‘Sawal Yeh Hai’, Miftah Ismail questioned the timing of the latest fuel price adjustments by the government, saying petrol purchased between 1 March 2026 and 7 March had been bought at lower prices and that there was no immediate justification for an increase.

“If prices had to be raised, it could have been done after 15 days,” he said.

Miftah Ismail argued that the government had reduced the petroleum levy on diesel and increased the profit margins of oil companies.

He said the recent rise in petrol and diesel prices had benefited oil companies, questioning why the additional revenue from higher prices was not going directly to the government.

He also said senior bureaucrats were being provided with up to 800 litres of petrol.

The former finance minister has said that to avoid placing a burden on the people, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz and ministers simply say they will reduce their own petrol usage by 10 per cent in the current scenario.

Miftah Ismail also criticised the Punjab government’s spending, referring to the official aircraft used by the Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

He claimed that the annual expense of Maryam Nawaz’s aircraft was about Rs. 860 million and suggested that she could offer to personally pay Rs.86 million.

In a sarcastic tone, the former finance minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had described recent economic measures as difficult decisions that placed a burden on the public.

Miftah Ismail claimed that during his tenure as finance minister, the government paid Rs.40 as a subsidy on petrol, while the current government was now charging around Rs.100 per litre in taxes.

The former finance minister said that petroleum prices had been increased for the public, asking whether the expenses of government officials had also been reduced. He added that if the government had to raise prices, it could have increased taxes instead.

He further said that between 2018 and 2025 around 12 percent more people in Pakistan had fallen below the poverty line.