KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Friday postponed its planned nationwide strike after the government assured dealers that their profit margin on petroleum products would be increased.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Baksh said Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had contacted him by telephone and assured him that the dealers’ margin would be revised upward.
According to Baksh, the petroleum minister indicated an increase of Rs1.34 per litre after obtaining special approval from the prime minister.
He said the Economic Coordination Committee had also met on Thursday following the petroleum minister’s intervention, while a special committee was being formed to examine the oil marketing companies’ demand for abolishing the quota system.
Baksh said the government had accepted two key demands raised by petroleum dealers and that the association would continue seeking further concessions for the petroleum sector.
He added that the government had appreciated petroleum dealers for their continued support of the state.
Regarding the daily pricing mechanism for petroleum products, Baksh said the government’s proposed solution would be introduced in three phases and could take around two weeks.
He said the government had agreed to consider a minimum period for determining fuel prices instead of changing them every day. Dealers had proposed a monthly pricing period, while the government was considering a seven-day cycle.
PPDA Vice Chairman Tariq Hassan said dealers had not received their inflation-linked adjustment of Rs1.34 per litre for the past four years, which he estimated had resulted in losses of around $50 million.
He said the dealers’ margin would increase from Rs8.84 per litre to Rs10 per litre. Following the assurances, the association decided to call off the nationwide strike that had been scheduled to begin on August 15.
The decision came a day after PPDA had announced an indefinite strike following unsuccessful negotiations with the government.
Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance said its nationwide strike would continue after talks with the federal and Sindh governments failed to produce an agreement.
Alliance President Malik Shahzad Awan said transporters would remain on strike until their demands were approved and a formal notification was issued. He said the protest had already continued for six days across Pakistan.
Awan rejected government assurances and urged transporters to remain peaceful and avoid blocking roads during the ongoing strike.
