Petrol pump owners withdraw call for closure after government assures margin review, two-week trial on fuel price
Nadeem Khan, secretary of the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association, announces the two-week postponement of the planned nationwide shutdown at a press conference alongside Oil Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik in Islamabad on Wednesday. SCREENSHOT
The All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association on Wednesday postponed the planned nationwide shutdown by two weeks following successful negotiations with Oil Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, who assured dealers that their long-standing concerns would be addressed.
Addressing a joint press conference with the minister, association 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 to the public.
“We reconsidered our decision taking into account the escalation of the crisis caused by the war situation and the difficulties encountered by the population,” he said.
Read: Petrol pump owners announce nationwide shutdown after failed talks with government
Khan said the minister had assured the association that its long-standing demand for a review of dealer profit margins, which had been awaiting action since 2022, would be met. He said the assurance 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 oil pricing mechanism, the secretary said the minister also assured the association that the policy would continue on a trial basis for two weeks, after which its pros and cons would be examined.
He said the government would assess whether the mechanism caused undue hardship to the public before deciding whether to maintain or reconsider it.
Based on these assurances, Khan said, the association decided to postpone its call for closure to avoid inconvenience to the public, expressing hope that its outstanding issues would be resolved after the two-week review period.
Speaking to the press, Malik acknowledged the difficulties faced by both consumers and petrol pump dealers due to rising oil prices.
Read also: Dealers are looking for a margin of 8% against the backdrop of daily fuel prices
He thanked the petrol pump dealers, their association and the oil marketing companies for their support to the government during the difficult times.
The minister said the region was once again facing the threat of war, which had created new pressure on oil prices.
“In this situation, we have collectively decided to move forward in a transparent and fair manner during this difficult time,” he said.
Malik added that with the help of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the government would start publishing a detailed breakdown in Urdu language of each component contributing to the increase in oil prices on the regulator’s website to ensure greater transparency.
The minister said the government would hold detailed meetings with the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), the Department of Explosives and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to resolve the issues faced by the petrol pump dealers.
He also assured the association that its long-standing demand for a review of dealer profit margins would be addressed. He said a roadmap would be prepared and summary sent to the cabinet so that dealers could cover their legitimate operating costs with an appropriate margin.
“On behalf of the ministry and the President of Ogra, I assure these colleagues that the issue, which has remained unresolved for several years, will be resolved in the next two weeks, and we hope to share this good news with them as quickly as possible,” he said.
Malik said if the issue remained unresolved after the two-week period, the government would hold another round of consultations with the association and do everything possible to resolve the issue.
