Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said at a press conference in Islamabad that policy failures have driven Pakistan into its current economic difficulties and that immediate steps are needed to relieve fiscal pressure. Speaking at the National Press Club alongside former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, he argued that petrol deregulation and a focused push for electric vehicles would produce visible relief for consumers and the economy.
Abbasi urged the government to allow market forces to set fuel prices and to remove retail price controls so companies can import and sell petrol competitively. He said petrol deregulation would prevent the need for sudden midnight price adjustments by the prime minister and would curb the extraordinary profits oil companies have been able to make at public expense.
On electric mobility, Abbasi stressed the need for a clear electric vehicle policy, especially for electric motorcycles. He noted that the cost of electric two‑wheelers has fallen and that promoting them would reduce import bills. He estimated that combined measures on petrol deregulation and EV promotion could begin shaving about $6 billion off the country’s external burden.
Highlighting the burden on ordinary riders, Abbasi said many motorcyclists spend roughly 7,000 rupees a month on fuel, of which about 3,000 rupees effectively goes to the government as tax. He pointed out the inequity that such levies fall heavily on common citizens while similar taxation is not enforced on wealthier segments, including some parliamentarians.
Abbasi also criticised fiscal giveaways and one‑off cash distributions as poor policy, saying that simply handing out money fuels corruption rather than addressing structural problems. He pointed to the rapid grassroots uptake of rooftop solar as an example of private initiative filling policy gaps, and he complained that taxation on solar installations penalises citizens who invested their own savings in clean energy.
On the gas front, Abbasi said LNG constraints have been dealt with in policy terms and that the private sector should be empowered to import LNG under existing rules, allowing the government to step back from direct market intervention. He reiterated that decisive steps on petrol deregulation and electric vehicle support would strengthen the economy and reduce dependency on costly imports.
Abbasi concluded by calling for long‑term, consistent policies rather than ad hoc measures, urging authorities to adopt petrol deregulation and a clear electric vehicle roadmap while removing disincentives on solar to let market forces deliver relief to Pakistanis.
