ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association has warned of a shutdown of petrol pumps nationwide from Aug 15 over the daily fuel pricing mechanism, giving the government a 72-hour ultimatum.
Addressing a press conference today, the association chairman, Malik Khuda Bakhsh, said that despite the passage of 15 days, the government has not made any progress on the demands.
Khuda Baksh said the decision was taken after a meeting of dealers from across the country.
“The association has given the government a 72-hour ultimatum and warned that dealers will not be able to continue operating petrol pumps if their demands are not accepted,” he added.
He said that if the government does not accept the demands within the stipulated time, all petrol pumps across the country will be closed for an indefinite period on August 15 from 6 am.
The Chairman of the Petroleum Dealers Association further said that dealers are facing financial losses due to daily fluctuations in the prices of petroleum products.
He demanded that the petroleum dealers’ margin be increased to 8 percent, and that the daily pricing system of petroleum products should also be reviewed, adding that the association was under pressure from its 14,000 members.
“We withdrew the strike 15 days ago on ethical grounds because we believed the government was serious,” he said.
Last month, on July 22, the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) postponed its planned call for a nationwide strike after successful negotiations with the government.
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 within two weeks.
Representative of the association, Nadeem Khan, also said that the issue of commission/profit margin for pump owners will be resolved in two weeks.
Earlier in March, the dealers had also threatened a nationwide strike demanding that the dealers’ margin be increased to 8 percent.
At that time, the association had taken the stand that despite a significant increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, the dealers’ margin remained at the same level, which had increased their expenses.
Later, the strike announced in March was postponed in view of the situation arising from the war in the Middle East and possible difficulties in oil supply.
