The Pakistani government has declared the fare of all public transport in the capital Islamabad to zero for the next 30 days to deal with the severe impact of the energy crisis on the international market.
The decision came after the war-torn Iran and the U.S.-Israel conflict doubled in the country’s energy prices in a few hours.
“At the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, all public transport in Islamabad will be free for the next 30 days,” Home Minister Mohsin Naqbi told the micro-blogging site X. For this, the Ministry of Home Affairs will bear the cost of Rs 350 million. This decision will come into effect from Saturday.”
Earlier on Thursday night, Pakistan’s energy minister Ali Pervez Malik announced the new fuel price. According to their data, the price of petrol has risen by 43 per cent and diesel prices have risen by about 55 per cent. According to the new price, the price of petrol per litres of petrol has been fixed at Rs 458.40 (about $1.64) and the price of diesel is 520.35 rupees (about $1.86).
The minister said the decision was taken considering the situation in the international market. “The government has done its best to keep the previous price limit, but since there is no solution to the war, it was mandatory to raise prices,” he added.
Although the move is aimed at reducing the impact of energy on the general public, the concerns of citizens due to the energy crisis in the country are still low.
Source: Al Jazeera, Radio Pakistan