Senior Bureacrats receive free petrol up to 800 litres: Miftah Ismail

Miftah Ismail, the former finance minister of Pakistan, has harshly slammed the government for increasing public spending and gas prices, claiming that although official expenses continue to rise, the burden of rising costs is being imposed on regular residents.

Miftah Ismail questioned the timing of the government’s most recent changes to fuel prices, claiming that there was no imminent reason for an increase and that petrol bought between March 1 and March 7, 2026, had been acquired at lower costs.

He claimed that if price increases were necessary, they could have been made after 15 days.

According to Miftah Ismail, the government has raised oil companies’ profit margins and decreased the petroleum duty on diesel.

He claimed that oil firms had profited from the recent increase in the price of fuel and diesel, and he questioned why the government was not receiving the extra money from these price increases.

He added that up to 800 litres of gasoline were being given to senior administrators.

According to the former finance minister, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, and other ministers have stated that they will cut their own petrol use by 10% in the current situation in order to prevent burdening the populace.

Additionally, Miftah Ismail criticised the Punjab government’s expenditures, citing Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s official plane.

He asserted that Maryam Nawaz’s plane cost roughly Rs. 860 million a year, and he proposed that she give to pay Rs. 86 million out of pocket.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had characterised recent economic measures as tough choices that burdened the masses, the former finance minister stated cynically.

Miftah Ismail asserted that the present government was charging almost Rs. 100 per litre in taxes, although during his time as finance minister, the government paid Rs. 40 as a petrol subsidy.

The former finance minister claimed that the public’s fuel prices had gone up and questioned whether government officials’ costs had decreased as well. He went on to say that the government might have raised taxes in place of raising prices.

He added that the number of Pakistanis living below the poverty level increased by about 12% between 2018 and 2025.