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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that the government"s decision to hike petroleum prices was a direct consequence of the agreement between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (IMF).

The prime minister said that his government is "acutely aware of the impact that a fuel price hike has," but questioned whether the PTI, which was ousted, would have the "conscience to confront the truth."

Acutely aware of the impact that a fuel price hike causes. Govt is left with no choice but to raise the prices due to IMF deal that PTI govt signed. Will take the nation into confidence on the specifics of the IMF-PTI deal soon. We will get out of these economic difficulties, IA.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 16, 2022

PM Shehbaz chastised his predecessors in a series of tweets, accusing them of making "patently terrible economic policies" and urging them to accept responsibility.

I wonder whether those who struck the worst ever deal with IMF & took patently bad economic decisions have the conscience to face the truth. How can they pretend to be innocent when what the nation is going through is clearly their doing? Details soon https://t.co/6Cjeimgfd1

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 16, 2022

He also stated that he would shortly meet with the nation in private to discuss the terms of the IMF-PTI agreement.

The prime minister"s remarks come a day after the federal government announced a significant price hike for all petroleum products, including petrol, which increased by Rs24 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD), which increased by Rs59.16 per litre, the third such increase in the last 20 days.

The finance minister accused the previous PTI govt for entering into a defective arrangement with the IMF, which limited the incumbent"s hands and caused it to raise oil prices to get the economy back on track.

However, as fuel prices rose on Wednesday and the Pakistani rupee plummeted to Rs205 versus the US dollar, former Prime Minister Imran Khan predicted that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government will collapse.

The continuation of a six-billion-dollar bailout deal by the financial watchdog will determine if Pakistan avoids bankruptcy. Following the announcement of the national budget, Pakistan"s tax head hinted on Tuesday at raising income tax rates for upper middle-class and wealthy individuals, as the IMF submitted a list of new requests, which included a hike in personal income tax rates.

In a statement, IMF Resident Representative Ester Perez noted that more actions will be required to bring Pakistan"s budget for fiscal year 2022-23 into line with the $6 billion program"s major objectives.