After the continuous decrease in the prices of petroleum products for the past several months, on the first day of the new financial year, the Ministry of Finance has increased the prices of petroleum products after the approval of the Prime Minister.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Finance, the price of petrol per liter has been increased by 7.45 paise and the price of high speed diesel has been increased by 9. 56 paise per litre.  After this price increase, the new price of petrol has increased from Rs 258.16 to Rs 265.61 per liter and the price of high speed diesel has increased from Rs 267.89 per liter to Rs 277.45 per liter. The Ministry of Finance has attributed this decision to the increase in the prices of petroleum products in the world market during the last 15 days. The statement said that in view of the fluctuations in the prices in the global market, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has worked on the consumer price, but there has been no change in the rate of taxes and duties.  However, with the implementation of the budget for the new financial year, under which there has been a huge increase in taxes, this huge increase in the prices of petrol and diesel will lead to an increase in the inflation of all essential commodities. Thus, the fall in the inflation rate, which started as a result of the reduction in the prices of petroleum products to a total of Rs 35 per liter during the last several fortnights, will definitely be affected.  The prices of electricity and gas are also being continuously increased, for which the government has the simple justification that these decisions are indispensable to fulfill the conditions of the IMF, but in any case, it is the responsibility of the government to solve the problems of its citizens, so every government expenditure is Relief should be provided to the public by taking effective measures to reduce possible shortages, eliminate elite privileges and prevent corruption.

Meanwhile, financial experts say that  although the government is making concerted efforts to put the country's economy on the path of stability, which is suffering from financial and administrative mismanagement, but as a result of the drastic measures it has taken to increase the revenue in the new national budget, life has changed. Almost every segment has been affected in one way or the other and there is protest in its own way.  Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has openly admitted this fact in a press conference on Sunday and while highlighting various aspects of the budget, he has said that the overall situation of the economy has improved with the government's measures, fiscal and current deficits have decreased. And the currency has stabilized. Inflation rate has come down from 38% to 12%. This has restored the confidence of the international community and international institutions. Thanks to which economic stability is being helped towards continuity. He said that no doubt people are feeling the pressure due to the new taxes, especially the salaried class has increased their difficulties but as soon as the financial capacity is created, they will definitely be given relief.  He said that government expenditure is being reduced. Ministers have given up their salaries and are paying utility bills themselves. The budget, which came into effect yesterday, has been prepared according to the IMF's strict guidelines. The positive side of which is that this month, a long-term loan agreement of 6 to 8 billion dollars will be signed with the international organization.  This will be the last program after which there will be no need to borrow from the international organization. Explaining the budget measures, he said that the tax on 42,000 registered retailers has come into effect from July 1.

The government is digitizing to eliminate corruption, leakage and tax evasion, thus reducing human intervention will increase tax revenue. He also said that both FBR officials and taxpayers are involved in tax evasion. Macroeconomic stability is the biggest challenge at this time for which the IMF program is indispensable, without which the economy cannot recover.  Currently, 6 billion rupees worth of electricity is being stolen, to control it, reforms are being made in the energy sector and work is being done on outsourcing and privatization of electricity companies. Barriers to remittance of profits on foreign investment have been removed. Actions are underway to end the tax exemption of 39 billion rupees. The new pension system for civil servants will be implemented from July 1. Increasing the retirement age is also being considered. Public-private partnership system will be introduced by cutting the public sector development program.  The finance minister's explanation of the government's approach in defense of the measures taken in the budget is quite encouraging, but the fact that the common man is not satisfied with it cannot be ignored. Its difficulties have increased rather than decreased. The government is constantly increasing the tax burden to pay billions of dollars in debt to the IMF and other international organizations and countries.

The hike in petrol and gas prices since July 1 has become a source of inspiration for the public, the construction sector and some other sectors have been affected by tax hikes that need to be addressed. It is to be expected that the government, while complying with IMF conditions, will also keep in mind the protection of the interests of the poor and disadvantaged sections. Meanwhile, rejecting the general impression that the government has accepted all the IMF's demands unquestioningly and subjected the people to a deluge of inflation in the form of smart interest hikes in electricity and gas rates and taxes, the Govt has claimed that several demands of the financial institution were not accepted because if we were to accept all the words of the IMF, many such sectors would have been burdened due to which the difficulties of the vast majority of the country would have increased enormously.  He said that the IMF was insisting on imposing more taxes on agriculture and fertilizers and was not ready to back down, but he personally discussed all the points with the delegation of the financial institution and got concessions in these matters.

Due to which no more taxes were imposed on agriculture and fertilizers. According to the Prime Minister, the IMF was insisting that many medical devices should be taxed, even their desire was to tax the medical devices of charitable hospitals, but he convinced the international organization that doing so would cause difficulties for the people.  It will lead to unsustainable increase so such measures are not possible for the government.