effects of the reduction in oil prices will be conveyed to the public as soon as possible,” the premier was quoted as saying. The statement did not make any mention of the price of petrol, which was set at Rs366.58 per litre last week. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class.

High-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for large generators. After the US-Israeli war on Iran began, the government had initially hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre on March 6 and announced unprecedented austerity measures on March 9. On three separate occasions in the following weeks, PM Shehbaz said that he had rejected recommendations to increase fuel prices despite an increase in the global market.

But on April 2, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel, respectively. The ministers had also announced a targeted fuel subsidy programme. However, just a day later, PM Shehbaz had slashed the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre and brought the price of petrol down to Rs378 per litre. Last week, PM Shehbaz had further decreased diesel prices and petrol prices by Rs135 and Rs12 per litre, respectively.