Petrol pump owners withdraw call for shutdown after government secures margin review and two-week trial of fuel prices
Nadeem Khan, Secretary of All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association, announces the postponement of the planned nationwide shutdown for two weeks during a press conference along with Oil Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik in Islamabad on Wednesday. SCREEN GRAB
The All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association on Wednesday postponed its planned nationwide shutdown for two weeks after successful talks with Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, who assured traders that their pending concerns would be addressed.
Addressing a joint press conference with the minister, union secretary Nadeem Khan said the decision to withdraw the strike call was taken in view of the escalating regional crisis and the potential hardship it could cause the public.
“We reconsidered our decision keeping in mind the escalating crisis caused by the war situation and the difficulties faced by the people,” he said.
Read: Petrol pump owners announce nationwide shutdown after talks with government fail
Khan said the minister had assured the association that its long-pending demand for a review of dealers’ profit margins, which had been awaiting action since 2022, would be addressed. He said the insurance had also been formalized through a written agreement.
“We have full confidence in Ali Pervaiz Sahab and hope that our commission related issue will be resolved,” he said.
Referring to the government’s daily petroleum pricing mechanism, the secretary said the minister had also assured the association that the policy would continue on a trial basis for two weeks after which its merits and demerits would be reviewed.
He said the government would assess whether the mechanism caused undue hardship to the public before deciding whether to continue or reconsider it.
Based on these assurances, Khan said, the association had decided to postpone its shutdown call to spare the public inconvenience and expressed hope that its outstanding issues would be resolved after the two-week review period.
Addressing the presser, Malik acknowledged the difficulties both consumers and petrol pump dealers are facing due to rising oil prices.
Also read: Dealers seek 8% margin amid daily fuel prices
He thanked petrol pump dealers, their association and oil marketing companies for supporting the government in difficult times.
The minister said the region was once again facing the threat of war, which had put renewed pressure on oil prices.
“In this situation, we have collectively decided to move forward in a transparent and fair manner during this difficult period,” he said.
Malik added that with the assistance of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the government would start publishing a detailed Urdu-language breakdown of each component that contributes to petroleum price hikes on the regulator’s website to ensure greater transparency.
The minister said the government would hold detailed meetings with oil marketing companies (OMCs), the explosives department and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to resolve the issues faced by petrol pump dealers.
He also assured the association that its long-awaited demand for a review of dealers’ profit margins would be addressed. He said a road map would be drawn up and a summary sent to the cabinet so that the dealers could cover their legitimate operating costs through an appropriate margin.
“On behalf of the ministry and the Ogra chairman, I assure these colleagues that the issue, which has been unresolved for several years, will be resolved within the next two weeks and we hope to share this good news with them as soon as possible,” he said.
Malik said that if the matter remained unresolved after the two-week period, the government would hold another round of consultations with the association and make every effort to resolve the issue.
