ISLAMABAD - Much to the dismay of hard-pressed gas consumers, ‘unbridled’ LPG marketing companies as per their sweet will on Friday increased the price of commodity by Rs5/kg ahead of holy month of Ramazan, it has been learnt.

This shocking disclosure to the over-burdened Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumers, already bearing sky-high prices of the commodity, is certain to ruin the celebrations and joy of the blessings of Ramazan as the influential LPG marketing companies has made gas price expansive. Resultantly, with this hike done by LPG marketing companies without any reason, now price of a domestic cylinder of LPG will witness an increase by Rs60 while the price of commercial cylinder will find a surge by Rs240 in the country effective by Friday in the country to add insult to the injuries of LPG consumers. Similarly, domestic cylinder with Rs100 increase will now be available in Karachi at Rs1150, while in Lahore with increase of Rs110 will be available at Rs1270, and in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Murree with a raise of Rs115 will be available at Rs1330.
However, with a surge of Rs120, domestic cylinder will now be sold in the market at Rs1390 in Mirpur Azad Kashmir and Muzaffarabad with immediate effect.
Chairman LPG Distributors Association Pakistan Irfan Khokar further told that LPG marketing companies had refused to sale out LPG in accordance with the decided price of domestic cylinder as per the notification issued by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on 5th July. He said LPG marketing companies has boycotted today’s meeting and declined to accept Ogra pricing formula while challenging the role of Ogra. He said ‘unbridled’ LPG marketing companies has also threatened to stop LPG supply in the country.
Chairman LPG Distributors Association Pakistan in a statement has informed that as influential marketing companies were fleecing the consumers with unfair skyrocketing prices of the commodity and earning heavy Rs2crores unjustly on daily basis from the emptied pockets of poor consumers so they had threatened me of murder. “ If I was killed then a case of murder must be filed against the LPG marketing companies,” Irfan Khokhar said, adding, that President of Pakistan, and honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) should take notice of the sorry state of affairs in LPG industry only due to the unjust role of powerful LPG mafia. He further demanded of the government to maintain the writ of Ogra by immediately cancelling the quota of those LPG marketing companies and withdrawal of increase in the prices of the commodity, which had so far declined to accept the notification of regulatory authority regarding decrease between Rs30-40/kg in the prices of LPG.
It is worth mentioning here that Ogra had issued a notification of decrease between Rs30-40/kg in the price of LPG on 5th of July. But the marketing companies did not act upon it and submitted an application in Lahore High Court (LHC) in this regard. Upon this, LHC had directed Ogra on 17th July to discuss the parameters of reasonable consumer prices of LPG, determined in light of LPG Policy 2006 and policy guidelines of the federal government issued from time to time.
In pursuance of directions of honourable LHC, Ogra convened a meeting with all relevant stakeholders including LPG distributors and LPG marketing companies to discuss the parameters of reasonable consumer prices of the commodity on Friday but the LPG marketing companies instead of participating in discussion opted boycott while challenging Ogra to get them convinced as they do not accept Ogra notification regarding reasonable consumer price of the LPG in the country.