The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Friday postponed for two days its plan to shut down petrol pumps across Pakistan.
The association, which is pushing for an increase in profit margin of petrol pump owners, announced the decision after the first round of talks with State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik. Malik arrived in Karachi earlier in the day for talks with the association representatives and convinced them to call off the planned shutdown of petrol pumps.
In a statement, the association said it might hold another round of talks with the government after two days.
A day earlier, the association had announced shutting down petrol pumps across the country from July 22. “We will shut down all petrol pumps across Pakistan at 6:00pm on July 22,” said the association, which claims to have more than 10,000 members.
The association said in a statement the petroleum minister was informed about their concerns but he did not take any action. The official communique said that interest rates and inflation have hit operators’ businesses therefore the dealership margin must be increased.
The association said sales have slumped by 30% due to the Iranian fuel being smuggled into Pakistan.
“Around 8,000-9,000 (operators) … represented by us, will be shut on July 22,” said Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the association. He said the supply of petrol will remain suspended until the demands are met.
