Government likely to drop another petrol bomb tonight

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly's Committee on petroleum prices Wednesday recommended that only diesel price be kept unchanged till June this year which indicates that the government may drop another petrol bomb on people tonight, Geo News reported Wednesday.

"The subsidy on diesel would cost the government Rs7 billion," Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar who is heading the Parliamentary Committee said after chairing its meeting here.

Only last month, the Government had increased POL prices by Rs1 to 5.35 per litre despite the fact that the prices of petrol, light diesel oil and kerosene had tumbled in the global market.

Naveed Qamar clarified that the Committee did not recommend slashing of POL prices but added that the Federal Government would provide subsidy on diesel.

He said the Parliamentary Committee would also urge the provinces to contribute their share in the subsidy.

Qamar, however, said that the Committee did not have any mandate over the prices of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).