They waited for final approval of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who returned home after a weeklong foreign visit on Friday night. The sources said the ministry and Ogra authorities presented a detailed report to the Prime Minister on international oil pricing and its impact on local market. They said the authorities made a formal announcement of keeping oil prices unchanged for the next fortnight after formal approval of the Prime Minister.
The government's decision to keep oil prices unchanged came as a surprise in the wake of Attorney General's assurance to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in oil pricing case that the government was looking into petroleum products prices to give relief to the common man.
The oil prices in the international market are showing downward trend for the last several months but the government is not passing on its benefits to the consumers, saying it will reduce oil prices once it makes up loss in revenue incurred for jacking up the prices in early months of the current fiscal year.