ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said Friday that the government had given subsidy of Rs35 billions on petroleum products during the last month.

Talking to the reporters outside the Parliament House, Shaikh said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) is an independent organisation and it decides about prices of petroleum products without any interference from the government.

He said the government had not raised oil prices for long time in spite of a steep rise in petroleum prices in the international market.

Replying to a question, the finance minister said that Pakistan imported 85 per cent of the required oil and its products from aboard and current increase was because of tense situation in the Gulf region.

He stressed that political parties should understand the difficulties of the government and urged the media to inform the public about real picture of petroleum products.

Shaikh said the government is expanding tax-net by identifying 0.7 million eligible tax payers and FBR has already issued notices to these people.