Federal Finance Minister Hammad Azhar on Wednesday announced that the price of petrol will be slashed by Rs 1.5 per litre while the price of diesel will be slashed by Rs 3 per litre.

According to the details, addressing a press conference today, Hammad Azhar said that, ‘After consultations with the Prime Minister Imran Khan, we will reduce the prices of petrol and diesel.

He said that ‘Our currency is strong now and we are not adding dollars to it. Pakistan’s economy is progressing.’

Hammad Azhar said the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf government had brought about a positive change when it comes to the country’s reserves in the State Bank of Pakistan. ‘We have made the SBP independent’ said the Minister.

Hammad Azhar also said that the PTI government had received the $500mn tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which would be a healthy addition to the country’s reserves.

Finance Minister Hammad Azhar said Pakistan has successfully raised 2.5 billion dollars through Eurobond. Adding that, ‘We received bids for five billion dollars.’ He also said that it is the present government that brought the current account deficit and the primary account to surplus.