ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has rejected a summary of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) for increasing petroleum prices from about Rs6 to 7 per litre.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill in a tweet uploaded on Sunday informed that the Prime Minister did not approve the proposed increase in the prices of the petroleum products. Observers say the decision was likely made keeping in view the upcoming Senate elections on March 3.

He said that there was no increase in the prices of petroleum products despite the continuous rise in the prices in the world market.

According to the reports POL prices will remain unchanged till March 15. OGRA, in its oil prices summary, proposed the government to jack up the petrol price by Rs7 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs6 per litre for next 15 day but as per the final decision, the Prime Minister rejected the proposed increase.

Earlier, on February 1, the government increased the prices of all petroleum products by 2.5 per cent to 4.6pc for the next 15 days for the fifth fortnight in a row. Petrol price has gone up by 11.13pc (Rs11.20) since November 30 from Rs100.69 per litre till February 1. NNI