ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The federal government has raised petrol and diesel prices again, pushing petrol to Rs384.34 per litre. The increase comes as global crude prices keep climbing, a smart lockdown to cut fuel use is under consideration, and the prime minister’s Rs100-per-litre relief scheme prepares to go nationwide. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has rejected the relief as no substitute for scrapping the petroleum levy.
According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs4.10 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs6.41 per litre.
Following the increase, petrol now costs Rs384.34 per litre, up from Rs380.24, and high-speed diesel costs Rs415.83 per litre, up from Rs409.42.
The notification states that the new prices apply from September 16, 2026, for one day. The short validity shows how often prices are being revised as international markets remain volatile.
The latest increase reflects continued pressure in international markets. Brent crude has reached $107.6 per barrel, US crude is trading at $104.3 per barrel, and the UAE’s Murban crude stands at $123.8 per barrel. The steady rise in crude prices is keeping energy markets under strain.
Pakistan imports most of its fuel, so movements in global benchmarks feed quickly into local pump prices. Political parties have been warning of the fallout, including the PMML, which recently warned of public backlash over repeated petrol price hikes.
The increase has caused widespread concern among citizens. People said costlier petrol would push up the prices of daily necessities, transport and other expenses, and that inflation had already made life difficult.
Citizens said the added pressure would only deepen the hardship of households already struggling with rising costs. They urged the government to reconsider the decision and provide immediate relief, saying lower petrol and diesel prices would ease household budgets and help contain inflation.
Against this backdrop, the federal government is moving towards a “petroleum smart lockdown”. Proposals were reviewed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in light of rising fuel prices.
The meeting also discussed closing markets for three days and reducing market hours. Sources said a final decision on the smart lockdown was expected later in the day.
Meanwhile, the government is preparing to extend the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme beyond Islamabad, where it is already active. A meeting told officials that the scheme would be launched across the rest of the country at 11:59 pm on September 16, 2026.
The meeting on the scheme’s administration and implementation was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. It was attended by the federal ministers for information and broadcasting, IT and parliamentary affairs, the Minister of State for Finance, a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, the IT Secretary and members of the National Assembly from Islamabad.
Dar directed that registration be kept simple and accessible to every citizen so that as many deserving people as possible can benefit. He instructed officials to make the public awareness campaign effective and to ensure smooth implementation at petrol pumps.
He urged elected representatives to spread information about the scheme and help citizens register. He also directed that volunteers of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme be mobilised for awareness and registration.
Announced on September 13, the scheme offers a discount of Rs100 on every litre of petrol for motorcycle, rickshaw, Qingqi and small-car users. Motorcycle and Qingqi owners are eligible for up to 20 litres a month, while owners of cars up to 800cc can claim relief on up to 30 litres. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that the Economic Coordination Committee has approved Rs75 billion for the scheme. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has described the package as a positive step amid the global oil surge.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, however, is unconvinced. JI deputy chief Liaqat Baloch said the third round of talks with the government had been held. At that meeting, the prime minister’s task force briefed the party on petroleum products, and Power Minister Awais Leghari also gave a briefing.
Speaking to the media, Baloch said JI had made clear that it rejects the Rs100 relief announced by the prime minister, which cannot replace abolishing the petroleum levy. The party was listening to the government’s briefings, he said, but the purpose of its protest and its September 20 call remains the abolition of the levy.
Real relief, he said, would come only if the burden of around Rs130 in levy and taxes were removed. He accused the ruling class of being unwilling to give up its luxuries, and alleged that people from the same parties were part of the sugar mafia and were being favoured.
Addressing the prime minister, Baloch said the Islamabad march would go ahead and that cosmetic relief measures would achieve nothing. He also questioned the use of the climate support levy, alleging that its proceeds had not been spent on their intended purpose.
Baloch said Awais Leghari and General Zafar briefed JI on independent power producers (IPPs). They told the party that matters with 54 IPPs had been finalised and that negotiations had saved Rs4,600 billion, and that talks with another 36 IPPs had reached the final stage.
If such large savings had been made, Baloch asked, why had the benefit not been passed on to the public? He said further talks between the government and JI negotiating committees were expected, but the party had told the government that time was running out.
At a press conference in Lahore, JI Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman called on the government to stop what he called its “relief drama” and end the “extortion” of the petroleum levy. He demanded that the levy be scrapped and the policy rate cut. He announced that JI would march on Islamabad on September 20 and that sit-ins in various cities would not be called off. The party’s Mall Road sit-in in Lahore recently entered its 31th day.
He said Rs1,567 billion was collected through the levy last year, yet the government was unwilling to lower interest rates. He also claimed that a parallel economy exists in Pakistan, with large volumes of transactions going unrecorded.
The JI chief accused the government of bullying people in the name of the levy, alleging it was taking Rs135 per litre. He said JI had briefed the government on the benefits of cutting the policy rate by 3 percent and had proposed a formula for reducing the levy.
He expressed regret at the State Bank’s decision to hold the policy rate. The Monetary Policy Committee kept the rate unchanged at 11.5 percent on September 14 by a seven-to-three vote, as headline inflation rose to 11.1 percent in August. Hafiz Naeem said the government claims to have reduced inflation, but high interest rates would increase debt. When global prices rise, he argued, the government should cut its own revenue take.
He said the government had given Rs25 billion in relief and was doing the nation no favour by making people stand in queues. He added that those through whom the relief is being delivered had not even been consulted, and that the government had spent tens of millions of rupees advertising the package.
The two JI leaders cited slightly different figures for the per-litre burden in which Liaqat Baloch put levy and taxes at around Rs130, while Hafiz Naeem said the government was taking Rs135 per litre. Hafiz Naeem’s Rs25 billion figure for the relief also differs from the Rs75 billion approval reported by Radio Pakistan.
The coming days will test the government on several fronts; a decision on the smart lockdown, the nationwide rollout of the relief scheme at petrol pumps, further negotiations with JI and the party’s planned September 20 march on Islamabad. Much will also depend on international crude prices. As long as Brent stays above $100, pump prices at home will remain under pressure.
Leave a Reply