Miftah Ismail, Finance Minister, said on Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will announce a relief package for those who can’t afford the government’s fuel price hike. Last night, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced a massive increase in the price of petroleum products in order to restore the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to support the country’s fragile economy. The decision was made in light of IMF guidelines, as the global lender insisted on the removal of petroleum subsidies in order to restart Pakistan’s much-needed programme. Miftah Ismail slammed former Prime Minister Imran Khan for his agreement with the IMF on a talk show. “Imran Khan promised the IMF a Rs30 levy and a 17 percent sales tax on petroleum products,” he said. According to the finance minister, the government is losing Rs120 billion per month as a result of Imran Khan’s unilateral decision to provide petrol subsidies. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a difficult decision.” “However, in his address to the nation today, he will announce a relief package for those who cannot afford high fuel prices,” he added. Miftah stated that the government has already stated that the IMF programme will not begin unless petroleum subsidies are eliminated. Miftah Ismail expressed concern about losing political capital as a result of the current decision to raise fuel prices, saying, “honestly telling you, we have admitted that by deciding on hiking fuel prices, we will suffer politically, but this is our country, and we will sacrifice to fix its issues.” Ismail acknowledged that the current increase in gasoline prices will shift the burden to the masses and increase inflation. Miftah rejected any possibility of default, saying, “I’m giving you a guarantee on two things: the IMF programme will be restored, and Pakistan will not go bankrupt.”