Karachi:
The Pakistan Petroleum Distributors Association (PPDA) has rejected the amendment proposed to the 1934 Petroleum Law that gives additional powers to civil bureaucracy to monitor oil dealerships and threatened a strike at the national level.
The president of PPDA, Abdul Sami Khan, went to a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday along with other officials, including the association leader, Malik Khuda Bakhshsh.
Khan said that federal government amendments to oil laws are unacceptable and that the association will adopt a strict position against changes in the 1934 Petroleum Law.
He said the amendments would grant additional powers to the commissioners attending (ACS) and the attached commissioners (DC) instead of the regulator, the regulatory authority of oil and gas (OGRA).
“A meeting with the oil minister is scheduled for Monday, May 26 to discuss the proposed amendment. If our demands are not met during the meeting, we will proceed with a strike at the national level,” he said.
He recognized the need for legal changes to stop oil smuggling, but expressed concern that fuel merchants would end up being unjustly attacked. “Despite government guarantees, oil margins have not increased for several years,” he added.
Malik Khuda Bakhsh said that under the amendment proposed to the Petroleum Law, ACS and DCs would have the authority to investigate any problem involving fuel stations. He said that a fuel pump caught fire in the Shah Faisal area of Karachi and that it was then discovered that the license had been issued by a DC.
“This is an obsolete law, and such powers should rest with a regulator like Ogra,” he argued.
Another member of the association, Raja Waseem, said that powers should not be delivered so extensive to the bureaucracy. “The decisions taken behind the closed doors involve only oil marketing companies (WTO), while we, distributors, are excluded,” he said.
