The National Transport Ittehad (NTI) has said they would announce to close their business in their meeting on January 20 if petrol and diesel prices were not lowered by January 15.
Ittehad Chairman Salim Khan Bangash and other leaders in their joint statement here Tuesday claimed that the federal government had promised with transporters at the Awan-e-Sadr, Islamabad, on December 18 last year that prices of petroleum products would be decreased.
It was also promised that quarterly review system would be adopted instead of currently enforced fortnightly review system.
Salim Khan Bangash also said the cost of one litre of diesel was only Rs 6.50 per litre while the government had imposed 115 percent taxes on it due to which its price has gone as high as Rs 23 per litre.
He claimed that oil companies were not importing petroleum at all as Pakistan was producing sufficient quantity of petroleum, which can fulfil our petrol demands.
Bangash also claimed that the Parco Refinery Company and the Attock Refinery Company were selling surplus quantity of petrol to Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Rs 9 per litre, saying the surplus quantity of imported diesel is also sold at Rs 11 per litre in Afghanistan by the PSO.
He said when there was Rs 3 per litre reduction in diesel price in April 2003, and transporters lowered transport fares, adding since that there has been an increase of Rs 4 per litre in diesel price, it was almost impossible for transporters to continue their business.
He demanded that if diesel price is not decreased, then Sindh government should increase transport fares.