The Sindh of All Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (APPDA) supported a national strike on March 4, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Petroleum Dealers Association (KPPDCA) threatens a strike on the province if the deregulation of the Oil Government of the Oil Oil Government government is not reversed.
Last week, the Minister of Petroleum Musadik Malik revealed that plans to implement a deregulation policy would allow oil marketing companies (WTO) to set their own fuel prices, allowing them to sell at rates lower than prices Government fixed in order to seize a larger market share.
However, this proposal raised fears of potential disturbances on the market, affecting in particular local refineries and petroleum dealers.
In the Sindh, the members of the APPDA, including the member of the Central Executive Committee Raza Abbas and the key chief Nauman Butt, announced the strike at a press conference. Abbas said that the strike, which will start on March 4, will continue indefinitely until the government responds to requests from concessionaires.
He expressed his concern that deregulation could cause a card card of a few powerful WTOs, disturbing the entire petroleum market. Abbas also accused the Ministry of Oil of protecting the interests of some selected companies, potentially putting the entire sector under the control of a few players.
In response to the PPDA call, all petrol pumps in Karachi and through the Sindh will be closed on March 4.
Butt criticized the ministry for not consulting the 15,000 oil dealers across the country before announcing deregulation plans. He added that the dealers remain unconscious of the details of the proposed deregulation formula.
He also warned that deregulation may make the availability of standard oil products impossible.
He also questioned the feasibility of the minister of oil’s proposal so that refineries use 5% ethanol, noting that local refineries do not have the capacity to produce high quality petroleum products with the ethanol. He concluded by declaring that consumers would bear the weight of the consequences of deregulation.
Meanwhile, Gul Nawaz Afridi, president of KPPDCA, responded to the concerns of the province’s concessionaires, president of KPPDCA, responded to the concerns of the province’s concessionaires in a press conference.
He warned that the policy would grant an uncontrolled power of the WTOs, potentially increasing the smuggling and hoarding of petroleum products.
Afridi stressed that the country’s economy is based strongly on taxes collected in the oil industry and that any poor management of the sector could have serious consequences for the Pakistani economy.
He also expressed concerns about the lack of transparency that could result from deregulation, further destabilizing the sector. He announced that if their requests are not satisfied by March 3, oil dealers in KP will also be on strike indefinitely.
