Fact Check: This notification about increase in petrol price is fake

The Claim: The interim government has increased the price of petroleum products by Rs22.

The Fact:  The interim government has not increased the price of petroleum products, yet.

The Story: A notification from the Ministry of Finance was circulating on social media on Thursday evening stating that Pakistan’s interim government has increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs22, taking the price of petrol per litre to Rs312.

However, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance no decision regarding the increase in petrol prices has been taken yet. In addition, The Ministry of Finance’s Petroleum Division announces petroleum prices every two weeks, based on the recommendation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

The Spread:

The notification was not reported by any prominent news organisation, but it was widely shared on social media.

The examples of the spread on ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter can be found here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

It was widely shared on Facebook too, the examples of which can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The Verdict: 

In light of the statement by the Ministry of Finance, it can be safely said that the notification regarding the increase in petroleum prices is not authentic. The fact check however is for this particular tweet and does not guarantee a price hike won’t be announced in the near future.