On Monday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) filed a writ petition challenging the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products for the month of February.
The Judicial Activism Panel moved the petition, asking the court to declare as unconstitutional the government’s attempt to significantly raise petroleum prices.
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The petition claims that a common man who is still suffering from rising inflation has been given more pressure.
According to a notification released by the Ministry of Finance, the federal government raised the prices of petroleum products for the next 15 days starting from 1st February.
The Prime Minister has approved a price increase of Rs. 2.70 per litre for petrol and Rs. 2.88 per litre for diesel.
The price of kerosene oil has been raised to Rs. 3.54 per liter, while the price of light diesel has been raised to Rs. 3 per liter.
On Friday, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) suggested an increase of Rs. 12 per litre in petrol prices from 1 February onwards. On high-speed diesel, the OGRA suggested an increase of Rs. 10 per litre.
Prior to the event, sources revealed that OGRA had prepared its summary on the basis of the Rs. 30 per litre levy. The tax on petrol at present is Rs. 21.56 per litre.
The new rates of the petroleum products are as under.
| Product | Previous Price | Change in Price | New Price |
| Petrol | Rs. 109.20 | Rs. 2.70 | Rs. 111.90 |
| High Speed Diesel | Rs. 113.19 | Rs. 2.88 | Rs. 116.07 |
| Kerosene | Rs. 76.65 | Rs. 3.54 | Rs. 80.19 |
| Light Diesel | Rs. 76.23 | Rs. 3.00 | Rs. 79.23 |
