PM forms committee to probe petrol crisis

(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has constituted a committee to investigate fuel shortage crisis, media has reported. The committee will be headed by Special Assistant to PM Shahzad Qasim.

As per details, the committee has been tasked to investigate which oil marketing companies and petrol stations were involved in hoarding. It will also give recommendations and analyze the fuel situation in the country in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The PM has directed the committee to submit its inquiry report by July 10.

Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar said that there was sufficient evidence to show that oil marketing companies (OMCs) and petrol pump owners were storing oil in the current month while expecting an increase in the prices.

He said comparing the OMC sales figures in the first 10 days of June this year it was 52 percent higher than the same period of last year and the current average sales was around 32 to 33 percent higher than that of June 2019.

The advisor stated it was not possible that consumption had jacked up significantly over last year.This means that a major part of oil was going towards hoarding, he mentioned.

An artificial fuel crisis was created in the country soon after the government reduced petrol prices in June. An inquiry report into the country's petrol crisis blamed nine Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for the ongoing crisis.

The report said that nine OMCs had deliberately created a petrol crisis. Despite the presence of petrol in storage, the supply of petrol was restricted from June 1. The report also stated that these nine OMCs had formed a nexus to create a petrol crisis, while private companies had built anti-regulatory infrastructure to store petrol