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ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has reduced petrol price and diesel rate, ARY News reported.<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the notification issued by OGRA, the price of petrol has been reduced by Rs1.65 per litre.<\/p>\n The new petrol price has been fixed at Rs389.14 per litre.<\/p>\n The price of high-speed diesel has been reduced by Rs0.88 per litre, bringing its new price to Rs424.04 per litre.<\/p>\n The revised prices have been notified by OGRA for one day.<\/p>\n Earlier, the federal government has expanded the Prime Minister\u2019s Fuel Relief Scheme to include motorcycles, rickshaws and Qingqi rickshaws up to 20 years old, providing relief to owners of older vehicles amid rising fuel prices.<\/p>\n According to the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed that 20-year-old motorcycles, rickshaws and Qingqi rickshaws be immediately included in the scheme.<\/p>\n Under the revised criteria, all motorcycles, rickshaws and Qingqi rickshaws registered on or after January 1, 2006, will be eligible to register for the fuel relief scheme.<\/p>\n Earlier, only motorcycles and three-wheelers registered on or after January 1, 2011, were eligible for the scheme.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister\u2019s Fuel Relief Scheme provides registered beneficiaries with petrol at a discount of Rs100 per litre. The scheme was launched to ease the financial burden on the public amid rising oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government is fully aware of the burden being placed on the people due to the increase in oil prices,\u201d the prime minister was quoted as saying in an official press release. \u201cWe will not leave the people alone in this difficult time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, payments to petrol pumps under the relief scheme have begun, the Petroleum Pump Owners Association said on Friday.<\/p>\n The association said Rs12.2 million had been paid to 868 petrol pumps against claims for September 16, adding that the full amount claimed by the stations had been cleared.<\/p>\n The digital system introduced for the scheme has also been activated, enabling registered beneficiaries to avail themselves of the relief at petrol stations across the country.<\/p>\n Real-time monitoring of the provision of subsidised petrol to registered beneficiaries is also under way.<\/p>\n Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima said around one million people had so far registered for the petrol relief scheme.<\/p>\n Notably, the petrol price hike pushed weekly inflation up 0.49pc in Pakistan.<\/p>\n The weekly inflation increased by 0.49% following a rise in petroleum product prices in Pakistan, according to the latest report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).<\/p>\n The annualised weekly inflation rate was recorded at 10.64%, the report said.<\/p>\n Prices of 19 essential commodities increased during the week, while nine items became cheaper.<\/p>\n Diesel recorded the biggest increase, with its price rising by 7.29% over the week. Petrol prices increased by 6.40%, while LPG became 3.26% more expensive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n