Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says that the Middle East conflict has spilt over and affected the prices of petroleum.

He has made these remarks during a press conference announcing a price hike of Rs55 in the rates of both petrol and high-speed diesel. These prices are set to take effect from midnight.

“There has been an increase of 50 per cent to 70pc in various products,” he noted, adding that in other countries, the trickle-down effect was visible with an “automatic increase in [petroleum] prices,” Dar says.

However, in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been “careful and deliberations have been ongoing for the past two to three weeks”, he adds.

Dar adds that the government is making efforts to work with other countries to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, “but God knows how long it will take”.

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