US EditionPakistan Announces Free Public Transport as Energy Crisis Bites
Officials said the free service will cost the government 350 million Pakistani rupees as protests spread after petrol and diesel prices jumped.
- On Friday, April 3, officials announced that public transport in Islamabad will be free for the next 30 days starting tomorrow, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stating the government will bear a burden of 350 million Pakistani rupees.
- A late-night decision to hike petrol prices by 42.7 per cent and diesel by 54.9 per cent followed spiking global energy costs caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which virtually froze shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Demonstrators in Lahore called the move a "petrol bomb on its people," as 39-year-old Naveed Ahmed told AFP that officials must provide relief from the "storm of inflation."
- Beyond the capital, the chief minister of Punjab lifted state-run transport costs and announced "targeted subsidies" for trucks and buses, while the provincial government in Karachi, Sindh, launched similar support measures for motorcyclists and small farmers.
- Pakistan faces economic pressure with roughly 25 per cent of its 240 million population living in poverty, though the International Monetary Fund agreed on March 28 to unlock a new US$1.2 billion support package for the country.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Due to the ongoing war in West Asia, petrol and diesel prices have risen sharply in Pakistan. Petrol has reached ₹458 and diesel ₹520 per liter. Amid rising inflation, the government has announced free bus and train travel and subsidies for 30 days, but this is considered a temporary relief.
Energy crisis deepens in Pakistan amid Iran war as Islamabad announces free public transport for 30 days
Following a significant fuel price hike, Islamabad will provide free public transport for 30 days amid energy crisis fuelled by Iran war. The move follows a late-night decision to raise petrol prices by 42.7 percent and diesel by 54.9 percent, which triggered several street protests.
saarbruecker-zeitung.de
HandelsblattAsia is particularly dependent on energy supplies from the Gulf. In Pakistan, therefore, the government is now massively raising fuel prices and making public transport free of charge in some cities.
The Straits Times
Pakistan announces free public transport as energy crisis bites
State-run public transport in Pakistan’s capital and most populous province will be free for the coming month, officials said on April 3, after the government drastically raised fuel prices due to spiking global energy prices caused by the Iran war.
Transport in common in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, will be free on Saturday, announced by the Minister of Interior on Friday, after the Government has significantly increased the price of fuels due to global energy prices, in the context of the war in Iran, informs the AFP.
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