Karachi:
Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) rejected the proposed amendment to the 1934 oil law which gives additional powers to the civilian bureaucracy to monitor oil dealers and threatened a national strike.
The president of the PPDA, Abdul Sami Khan, addressed a press conference on Saturday at the Karachi Press Club alongside other officials, including the head of the Malik Khuda Bakhsh association.
Khan said that federal government’s amendments to oil laws are unacceptable and that the association will adopt a strict position against the 1934 law changes to the oil law.
He declared that the changes would grant additional powers to the assistant commissioners (ACS) and the assistant commissioners (CD) rather than the regulator, to the Authority for Petroleum and Gas Gazon (OGRA).
“A meeting with the Minister of Petroleum is scheduled for Monday, May 26, to discuss the proposed amendment. If our requests are not satisfied at the meeting, we will make a national strike,” he said.
He recognized the need for legal modifications in the sidewalk of oil smuggling, but expressed his concern that fuel merchants end up being unjustly targeted. “Despite government insurance, the oil margins have not been increased for several years,” he added.
Malik Khuda Bakhsh said that by virtue of the amendment proposed to the Oil, ACS and DCS Act would have the power to investigate problems concerning the carbon stations. He said that a fuel pump caught fire in the Shah Faisal region of Karachi and that it was discovered later that the license had been issued by a DC.
“This is an obsolete law, and these powers should rest with a regulator like OGRA,” he argued.
Another member of the association, Raja Waseem, said that such extensive powers should not be given to the bureaucracy. “Decisions taken behind closed doors only involving oil marketing companies (WTO), while we, dealers, are excluded,” he said.
