Claim: PML-N lawmaker Hina Parvez Butt claims that during the tenure of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, petrol prices rose to PKR 400 per litre.
Fact: Butt’s claim is false. The highest price of petrol during Khan’s tenure was PKR 159.86 per litre, according to historical data.
On 16 June 2025, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hina Parvez Butt — who is a member of the Punjab Assembly — claimed (archive) that petrol prices hit a high of PKR 400 per litre during the government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“اس بجٹ میں عوام کو ریلف دیا جائے گا ۔۔ پیٹرول کی قیمتوں میں کمی آئے گی، پی ٹی آئی دور حکومت میں تو پیٹرول کی قیمت 400 تک چلی گئی تھی۔۔ ممبر پنجاب اسمبلی حناء پرویز بٹ
[Relief will be provided to the people in this budget. Petrol prices will be reduced. During the PTI government’s tenure, the price of petrol had gone up to PKR 400: Punjab Assembly Member Hina Parvez Butt]”
The PML-N lawmaker was speaking to the media ahead of a session wherein Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman unveiled the FY2025-26 provincial budget of PKR 5.33 trillion. Her comments were published by Azaad Digital on its social media platforms.
In response to a reporter’s question about petrol prices, she said, “Yes, I was just checking … but, God willing, their [petrol] prices will decrease. You know, in the PTI’s [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] tenure, petrol prices went up to PKR 400 [a litre]. Right now, they’re quite low.”
She then discussed the then-forthcoming budget, promising that the Punjab government would provide relief to the public and speaking about salaries and pensions, minimum wages, agricultural and educational reforms, scholarships, youth internship programmes, sports facilities, and protection initiatives for women.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reviewed petrol prices from 18 August 2018, when Khan was sworn in as prime minister, up till 10 April 2022, when he was ousted through a controversial no-confidence motion.
Petrol prices averaged at PKR 114.23, hitting a low of PKR 74.52 on 1 June 2020 and peaking at PKR 159.86 on 16 February 2022, less than two months before Khan was removed as the premier. The visual below provides an overview of the same data.
Relevant data can be found on the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) website, in Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO) archival data, and on the data portal of financial services provider Karandaaz Pakistan.
This indicates that Butt’s claim is false.
Virality
Apart from the social media posts by Azaad Digital, the interview was shared here on Facebook and here on X (formerly Twitter).
Some Facebook posts only included the claim as text, without the video. These can be found here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Butt’s claim is false. The highest level of petrol prices during Khan’s tenure was PKR 159.86 per litre, according to historical data.
Cover photo: @hinaparvezbutt & engin akyurt
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