Strike from tomorrow: Govt-PPDA talks stay inconclusive

KARACHI: Talks between petroleum dealers and the federal government over the dealers’ outstanding demands ended without agreement on Thursday, with the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) saying it remained committed to its plan to shut petrol pumps from Saturday morning.

A delegation of petroleum dealers from across the country, led by PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh, held discussions with Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik and officials of the Ministry of Petroleum in Islamabad.

According to the dealers, the talks continued for nearly five hours and remained tense. The delegation pressed the petroleum minister to honour his earlier commitment to resolve their grievances within 15 days, but said the government did not agree to their demand for changes in the existing mechanism of daily revisions in petroleum product prices.

The dealers said the government had, however, assured them that an increase of Rs1.34 per litre in dealers’ margins would be considered, subject to approval by the federal cabinet.

The 72-hour ultimatum issued by the dealers had also come under discussion during the meeting, with the petroleum minister expressing displeasure over the ultimatum, according to the PPDA.

Following the inconclusive talks, the dealers’ delegation decided to return to Karachi and convene an emergency meeting of the PPDA Executive Committee to determine the next course of action. The delegation included PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh, Vice Chairmen Tariq Hassan and Anwar Kamal, Sindh President Ameer Khan, Punjab Vice Chairman Raja Wasim, Chaudhry Babar, Khawaja Kashif Elahi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa representative Abdul Majid Khan, among others.

PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh said the association remained firm on its decision to go on strike on Saturday morning, with petrol dealers expected to shut their businesses.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026