Rejects government’s daily fuel price review mechanism, says strike will continue until their demands are accepted
Pakistan Petrol Pumps Association president Humayun Khan addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, announcing the closure of petrol pumps across the country after talks with the government failed. SCREEN CAPTURE
The Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) on Tuesday announced a nationwide closure of petrol pumps starting Tuesday night after talks with the government over their demands ended without progress.
Amid volatility in global oil prices following renewed hostilities in the Middle East, the government last week adopted a daily fuel price review mechanism. Under the new system, daily prices are based on a seven-day average of international market rates to align with international standards.
Addressing a press conference, association president Humayun Khan said representatives of the All Pakistan Petroleum Pump Association from all four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir had met Oil Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and put forward two key demands.
Read: Government increases petrol price by Rs 4.93 and HSD by Rs 7.15 per liter by July 22
“Our two main demands were that our commission be converted to a percentage-based system and that the daily review of fuel prices be abolished and reverted to a monthly mechanism,” he said.
He said the talks had failed to resolve the association’s concerns.
“Our problems remain unresolved. If you look at the situation of oil marketing companies (OMCs), distributors across Pakistan are currently going through extremely difficult circumstances,” he said.
Criticizing the government’s decision to revise prices of petroleum products daily to align them with international rates, Khan said traders across Pakistan had been suffering losses for the last two to three months.
“The price increased yesterday and we heard that it will increase again today. The government has shifted the burden to petrol pumps, OMCs and refineries to escape public criticism, saying it is no longer their responsibility,” he said, adding that the authorities were misleading the public by increasing prices every day.
“The public understands this very well. Whether you increase prices by Rs 100 in one go or by Rs 5, 10 or 20 every day, the result is the same,” Khan added.
The president said the association had urged the government to resolve the issue in a manner that was fair to both the public and petrol pump owners but despite all efforts, “we have realized that this government does not want to resolve the problems of the business community.”
He announced a nationwide shutdown, including in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, adding that the association was also in touch with oil tanker owners, who would soon announce their own strike.
Read also: Government shifts to daily POL pricing amid global headwinds
He urged the government to listen to the concerns of the business community and described petrol pump owners as the biggest stakeholders in the oil industry. He regretted that whenever the government formulated a policy, petrol pump owners were not consulted.
He said the closure would continue until all the association’s demands were accepted.
Earlier, talks between the government and the association failed to make any progress and both sides ended the meeting without any progress.
In a video message, association leader Nauman Butt said negotiations with the Petroleum Minister had not yielded any positive outcome, while discussions on dealer margins and implementation of daily fuel price reviews were also inconclusive.
He said the association had decided to close petrol pumps across the country from midnight on July 22 and the nationwide strike would continue until their demands were accepted.
The association urged all petrol pump owners to fully participate in the strike and asked them to keep their outlets closed from midnight on July 22.
Read more: Daily fuel checks cause chaos on the road
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Freight Transport Alliance announced its support for the strike called by the Pakistan Petrol Pumps Association.
In a statement, alliance president Malik Shehzad Awan urged the federal government to accept what he described as legitimate demands of the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Association and the Petroleum Dealers Association.
Awan said transporters, petrol pump owners and dealers association were heading towards a nationwide strike due to what he called flawed policies of the federal government.
He also rejected the government’s decision to review the prices of petroleum products on a daily basis.
“The strike by Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association and Petroleum Distributors Association will paralyze our transportation operations,” he said.
He urged the federal government to “come to its senses” and take decisions after trusting stakeholders.
Awan also said the federal and provincial governments were not providing help to freight transporters.
