ISLAMABAD – Petrol pumps across Pakistan are said to be closing indefinitely from 12:00am tonight as talks between All Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (APPDA) and Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik ended without an agreement.
In a video message, APPDA leader Humayun Khan said petroleum dealers had no choice but to launch a nationwide strike, saying operating petrol pumps had become financially impossible under the current structure.
“Our business can no longer survive. We are left with nothing after expenses,” Khan said. “Our commission is only Rs8 per litre. We have been operating at a loss for months, and we will not continue to bear these losses. If this situation persists, petrol pumps will start closing permanently within the next two months.”
After collapse of talks with petroleum minister, the association said all petrol pumps across the country will remain shut from midnight until the government accepts their demands.
Speaking at presser in Islamabad, Humayun criticized the government’s fuel pricing policy, accusing authorities of increasing petroleum prices in small daily increments to avoid criticism over larger hikes, alleging that the public was being misled while dealers continued to suffer mounting financial losses.
Pakistan has launched a sweeping overhaul of its petroleum pricing mechanism by introducing daily fuel price revision to respond faster to global oil market volatility fueled by renewed US-Iran tensions.
The federal government has transferred the responsibility for determining daily ex-depot petroleum prices to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), replacing the previous pricing model as part of a broader strategy to deregulate the downstream oil sector and increase transparency.
New Fuel Prices: Petrol cut to Rs316.15, Diesel rises to Rs354.35
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