Islamabad, April 6 Residents in Peshawar and other parts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been facing difficulties due to acute shortage of natural gas as CNG stations remained shut across the province, local media reported on Monday.
Majority of school van and bus operators have suspended their services due to unavailability of CNG while public transporters have increased fares after they started using petrol, placing further financial burden on residents, Pakistan's leading daily 'The Express Tribune' reported.
CNG filling stations remained closed for the second consecutive day in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. Several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa experienced unannounced loadshedding of natural gas, further increasing the problems for domestic and commercial consumers.
The closure of CNG stations has forced many vehicles to either stop operations or run at higher price of petrol, causing further hike in transport fares. School transporters are among the worst impacted as they have said that running vehicles on petrol is beyond their capacity, leaving them with no option except to disrupt their services, The Express Tribune reported. Parents have voiced concern over the suspension of school transportation, fearing it would impact education and daily routine of children.
Public transport operators are also facing several difficulties with those who have switched to petrol instead of CNG increasing fares. They have warned of suspending services if CNG stations do not resume operations.
On April 2, the Pakistan government announced a sharp increase in fuel prices, with petrol rising by 43 per cent and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by 55 per cent.
The price of petrol has been raised by Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 137.23 per litre from PKR 321.17 to PKR 458.41 while price of HSD has been increased by PKR 184.49 per litre from PKR 335.86 to PKR 520.35, Pakistan's another leading daily Dawn reported. The price of kerosene has been raised by PKR 34.08 to PKR 457.80.
Petroleum levy rates were adjusted to limit the rise in diesel prices and its effect on transportation and freight costs. The levy on petrol was raised to PKR 160 per litre from PKR 105, while it was reduced to zero on diesel from PKR 55, Dawn reported.
In his remarks on April 2, Pakistan Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the “difficult and responsible” decisions were made after discussion was held, which involved the country's President, Prime Minister, military leadership and provincial chief ministers.
He said the decision was aimed to restrict subsidies to the most deserving segments while maintaining fiscal discipline and protecting economic stability achieved over the past two years under international commitments.
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