Long queues at fuel stations as petrol shortage hits Lahore, other Punjab cities

Amid the ongoing economic crisis, fuel shortage hits the country’s most populous region Punjab as many petrol stations in different areas, especially in the provincial capital Lahore, run dry in wake of 'limited supply'.

Hundreds from different cities complained that no fuel was available in fuel stations while long queues were spotted at petrol pumps which are offering only limited fuel.

The situation remained worst in densely populated cities like Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad where petrol pumps have either no or a limited supply of petrol for a couple of days purportedly due to limited supply from the oil marketing companies.

Around 60-70 per cent of fuel stations in Gujranwala had no petrol, and the masses faced similar difficulties in Okara, Sahiwal and other cities in Punjab.

As people faced difficulty in buying the commodity, several trends appeared on the microblogging platform Twitter, where the usersvented out their anger over the fuel crisis. Some people also pointed out that panic buying was witnessed at some petrol stations.

Here's how people reacted:

This is #Islamic Republic of #Pakistan !The only #Petrol pump where petrol is available. The others have petrol but they are closed as the speculations of increase of prices are coming .They want to earn double profit. Pathetic.
Do you really call yourself a Muslim or even human? pic.twitter.com/bm8zk5hdgr

— Alia fatima (@aliaa_fatimaa) February 7, 2023

This is main petrol pump of Gujranwala.. pic.twitter.com/wsJBXP64bH

— *Cosmos🌸* (@RedRedBlueBlack) February 6, 2023

Will anyone out of the legion of non-functional ministers of this deplorable govt bother telling us why petrol/diesel is short in Lahore?

— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) February 7, 2023

#BREAKING: Visual from Gujranwala Pakistan, report says most of the petrol stations are running out of gasoline and most of the petrol ⛽ were already closed. pic.twitter.com/bRYPtsyNNV

— tag today (@tagtodayO) February 6, 2023

Amid the crisis, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik rejected rumors of a shortage of fuel, saying stocks are available are sufficient to cover more than 3 weeks.

Earlier, it was reported that the federal government is likely to increase prices of petrol and diesel by Rs30 per litre amid ongoing talks with IMF over a bailout package as the cash-strapped country decided to impose a general sale tax (GST) on petroleum products as an additional measure.