Govt decides to increase gas prices AGAIN

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government decided to increase the gas prices in Pakistan again, ARY News reported.

Speaking to media, the Finance Minister said that gas prices will increase from January 2024 as as Pakistan has informed IMF regarding the review of the power tariff.

She said the government would continue its efforts to achieve the stability of the overall economy and balanced growth, by reducing debts and carrying out development priorities as well as governance reforms in government enterprises.

After the staff-level agreement, Pakistan will receive about 70 million US dollars, after which the amount of assistance to Pakistan under the IMF programme will reach about 1.9 billion dollars.

Under this agreement, “we have made several successful reforms in the last few months that have revived economic activities, through our initiatives. The business-friendly environment improved investor confidence and Pakistan also received support from international partners after these reforms.

However, Dr Shamshad said that along with these positive changes, “we also realize that Pakistan faces significant external risks, including geopolitical tensions and commodity prices.” With increasing commodity prices and tough global conditions, Pakistan will continue its efforts to achieve overall economic stability and balanced growth, she added.

Shamshad Akhtar stated that reducing debts through financial stability and carrying out development priorities is our priority. For this purpose, it is necessary to control the federal and provincial expenses and improve the increase in revenues.

She said that it is necessary to strengthen the social safety net for the better protection of the economically weaker segments of society. In the financial year, under the Kafalat Cash Transfer Programme, stipends will be provided to 9.3 lakh families.

The Finance Minister said that under the stand-by agreement, it has been agreed to reduce costs in the energy sector and restore efficiency in the sector.

The circular debt of the power and gas sectors has crossed 4 per cent of our Gross National Product (GNP). Urgent action is needed to bring it down. We have started work in this regard and electricity and gas rates have been adjusted. she said that continuing the exchange rate policy based on market dynamics and increasing foreign exchange reserves are among our priorities.

She said the government’s priorities included a dynamic and accommodating monetary policy to bring inflation back to its target.

The minister said that the process of governance reforms in government enterprises would continue would further improve the business environment, promote investment and create job opportunities.

The comments, came a day after Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

The agreement is subject to the approval of IMF’s Executive Board after approval around US$700 million will be available bringing total disbursements under the program to almost US$1.9 billion.

According to details, the agreement is subject to approval of the IMF’s Executive Board and upon approval around 700 million US dollars will become available bringing total disbursements under the program to almost 1.9 billion US dollars.

Under the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA), Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the IMF as the first tranche in July.