Pakistan announces free public transport as energy crisis bites

ISLAMABAD: State-run public transport in Pakistan’s capital and most populous province will be free for the coming month, officials said Friday, after the government drastically raised fuel prices due to the Iran war. The announcement came after street protests and long queues of motorcycles at fuel stations triggered by a late-night decision to impose a 42.7-percent rise in the price of petrol to 485 rupees ($1.74) per liter. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif backpedaled late Friday, saying he was reducing the levy and setting petrol prices at 378 rupees per liter.

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