KARACHI: The All Pakistan Petrol Pumps Owners Association (APPPOA) on Tuesday announced a nationwide shutdown of petrol pumps from Wednesday night, after talks between the government and APPPOA over daily pricing mechanism ended without a breakthrough.
Talking to media persons, APPPOA General Secretary Nauman Butt said the association has rejected the government’s daily fuel pricing mechanism and would close petrol pumps across the country in protest. He said that they would not accept daily changes in petroleum product prices under any circumstances.
He said their main demand was that fuel prices should be determined on a monthly basis, adding that their longstanding demand for an increase in dealer commission had also remained pending, as the commission had remained frozen for the past three years.
The daily pricing mechanism created confusion and destroyed our businesses already running at thin margins,” he said, adding that the daily mechanism favoured OMCs who could delay deliveries in case of declining prices and book upliftment with advance billing
Separately, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) said it would decide on Wednesday whether to launch a strike after a meeting of its executive body. Meanwhile, Petroleum Division reportedly said the minister has listened to the concerns of petrol pump owners and assured them that the government would also consider dealers’ profit margins.
The sources said the government was introducing the new pricing mechanism to improve transparency in petroleum pricing. They said the government would ensure an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products and remained open to hearing legitimate proposals from all stakeholders.
