Petrol Pump Owners Call Off Strike After Successful Talks with Government
Islamabad: Petrol pump owners have postponed their nationwide strike after successful negotiations with Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, following the government’s assurance that dealers’ concerns would be addressed within two weeks.
The Petrol Pump Owners Association had earlier announced that fuel stations across Pakistan would remain closed, prompting urgent talks between government officials and representatives of the petroleum dealers on Thursday evening.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government understands the difficulties faced by the public and acknowledged that rising regional tensions have pushed up international oil prices.
He said the increase in petroleum prices in Pakistan had become unavoidable due to global market conditions. The minister also noted that the issue of petroleum dealers’ profit margins had remained unresolved for several years and that a proposal, prepared in consultation with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), would be presented to the federal cabinet. He assured dealers that the matter would be resolved within two weeks.
A representative of the Petrol Pump Owners Association said the government had signed a written agreement with the association and expressed hope that the profit margin issue could be settled even sooner. The representative also said the government had agreed to review the recently introduced daily fuel pricing mechanism.
Petroleum sector organizations had jointly presented three key demands to the government:
Increase dealers’ profit margin from 2.6% to 8%.
Replace the daily fuel price revision system with the previous fortnightly or monthly pricing mechanism.
Abolish the quota system imposed by oil marketing companies.
Earlier this month, the federal government transferred the authority for determining petroleum product prices to OGRA, introducing a daily pricing system under which petrol and high-speed diesel prices are announced each day on the regulator’s official website.
Following the policy change, petrol prices were increased by Rs5.44 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs31 per litre for an initial three-day period. The daily pricing mechanism has continued since then.
The new policy has drawn criticism from consumers, transport operators, and petroleum dealers. Transport fares have also increased following the rise in diesel prices. Although petroleum dealers had threatened protests and a nationwide strike, the industrial action has now been postponed after the government’s written assurances.
