Train travel in Pakistan likely to get costlier

Lahore [Pakistan], May 28 (ANI): Amid the recent hike in fuel prices in Pakistan by the Shehbaz Sharif government, Pakistan Railways (PR) is likely to raise its fares soon enough. The authorities have already forwarded recommendations to increase fares by 15 to 20 per cent.
The price hike would be implemented after the Pakistan Muslim League's (Nawaz) Khawaja Saad Rafique, who is also currently the head of the ministry of railways gives his final approval, reported Ary News.
Reportedly, the Pakistan Railways (PR) is bearing a loss of about 20 million rupees on a daily basis owing to the surge in diesel prices.
Earlier, ceding to the demands of the International Monetary Fund, the Shehbaz Sharif government has increased the petrol and diesel prices by PKR 30 per litre causing a surge in the cost of production in the country.
The new petrol price, after the recent hike, will be Rs 179.86 per litre, high-speed diesel will be available for Rs 174.15 per litre, kerosene oil will be priced at Rs 155.56 per litre, and the rates of light diesel will be that of Rs 148.31 per litre, reported Ary News.
The government's decision to raise fuel prices will remove a major obstacle in the way of concluding a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund(IMF). This price hike came after talks between the Pakistan government and IMF in Doha.
These discussions were aimed at reaching an agreement on policies at the conclusion of the IMF's seventh review of its USD 6 billion programmes for Pakistan, which has been stalled since early April.
The IMF had refused to revive the USD 6 billion programme if Pakistan fails to remove the fiscally unsustainable fuel and electricity subsidies. It had given Islamabad two days to lift the cap for the continuation of talks.
Although the increase in fuel prices would cause a surge in inflation, it will pave the way for Pakistan to achieve an IMF loan tranche of about USD 1 billion. (ANI)