ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) on Wednesday postponed its planned call for a nationwide strike for two weeks after successful negotiations with the government over the daily fuel pricing mechanism.
The representatives of the association announced during a joint press conference with Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik following the third round of talks.
The Chairman APPPOA Humayun Khan said that they have decided to postpone their strike and protest after the government’s assurance of reviewing the newly implemented daily pricing system.
Representative of the association Nadeem Khan said that the issue of commission/profit margin for pump owners will be resolved in two weeks.
The Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz said that the issue of profit margin of petroleum dealers will be resolved through consultation with all stakeholders.
“It was decided to defer the strike call after the government assured stakeholders that their grievances would be addressed within the next two weeks,” Malik told reporters.
The minister said that a summary regarding the proposed margin change would be presented to the federal cabinet for consideration.
He further added that the government would review the daily fuel pricing mechanism with petroleum sector stakeholders after two weeks.
“Since February 28 till today, the government has spent about Rs 100 billion to reduce the impact of rising fuel prices and has also launched a subsidy scheme for the most vulnerable sections of society,” the minister stated.
He added that the clouds of war are once again looming in the region and fuel prices are increasing. measures, asserting that the country’s top civil and military leadership is in touch with Iranian and US authorities to pave the way for a resolution to the dispute.
Fuel pricing mechanism
Last week, the Petroleum Minister announced that fuel prices will now be determined on a daily basis in view of price fluctuations in the global market.
He said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) will determine the prices of petroleum products five days a week, excluding Saturday and Sunday, based on a seven-day weekly average in the international market.
He further said that the cabinet has decided to bring transparency to the entire system of fuel prices, stating that “OGRA would not just publish the fuel rates on its website, but also publish the factors leading to the price that we see in each petrol pump.”
Following the announcement of this policy, the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) rejected the federal government’s new petroleum price deregulation policy and announced a nationwide strike on July 22.
