{
  "id": 1903881,
  "title": "PM directs petroleum minister to rush to Karachi for fuel price relief",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/pm-directs-petroleum-minister-to-rush-to-karachi-for-fuel-price-relief",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-19T09:19:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40435561/pm-directs-petroleum-minister-to-rush-to-karachi-for-fuel-price-relief"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik to swiftly travel to Karachi and implement immediate measures to alleviate fuel price concerns for the public. This directive emerged during a meeting where additional ministers, including Attaullah Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Musadik Malik, and Hamza Shehbaz, were also present. The Prime Minister emphasized that the minister should prioritize reducing the costs of locally produced diesel by personally engaging with the refineries without delay. According to the Prime Minister's Office, he stated that the majority of diesel is produced in local refineries, thus, the minister must negotiate with the refineries at the earliest to provide the quickest relief to the public. The recent protests by Jamaat-e-Islami against the high petroleum levy and frequent fuel price hikes, which blocked major roads such as Shahrah-e-Faisal, further underscore the urgency of the situation. On Tuesday, the Petroleum Division announced a revision in ex-depot fuel prices effective from August 19, with petrol prices rising by Rs3.34 per litre to Rs334.54 and High-Speed Diesel by Rs5.27 per litre to Rs395.69. The Petroleum Levy on HSD was increased to Rs78.28, while the levy on petrol remained at Rs80 per litre.",
  "summary": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Minister of Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik on Wednesday to immediately reach Karachi and take urgent measures for public relief regarding fuel prices. As per a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the development came during a meeting between PM Shehbaz and the petroleum minister, in which Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "PM Shebaz directs petroleum minister to Karachi over fuel prices",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/pm-shebaz-directs-petroleum-minister-to-karachi-over-fuel-prices",
        "published": "2026-08-19T10:18:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}