PM Shehbaz orders crackdown on petrol hoarding; directs real-time monitoring of stocks

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday has ordered an immediate nationwide crackdown on the hoarding of petroleum products, directing provincial governments to shut down petrol pumps and cancel the licences of those involved in creating artificial shortages.

Presiding over a high-level meeting to review the country’s fuel stocks amidst a shifting regional situation, the prime minister also mandated the creation of a real-time digital dashboard to monitor the movement and transportation of petroleum products across all provinces.

The Ministry of Petroleum provided a detailed briefing to the meeting concerning the storage of petroleum products in the context of the escalating regional situation. The briefing stated that an adequate stock of petroleum products is available in the country to meet national requirements.

The prime minister directed provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products. “Any petrol pump involved in the heinous business of creating artificial shortages should be shut down immediately, its licence cancelled, and legal proceedings initiated,” he ordered.

PM Shehbaz directed the Minister for Petroleum to visit the provinces and, in collaboration with provincial governments, prepare a strategy and plan for the conservation of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply to the public.

The premier directed the creation of a dashboard regarding the movement of petroleum products, through which data would be shared with provinces in real-time and the transportation of petroleum products would be monitored.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, federal ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, and Awais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jamil Ahmed, the chief secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, and senior government officials.

The development comes days after the federal government decided to convene daily meetings of a high-level cabinet committee to monitor petroleum prices and energy supplies amid rising regional tensions, as it sought to ensure uninterrupted domestic availability and maintain market confidence.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee to monitor petrol prices in the wake of the emerging situation in the region, chaired by Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division.

According to an official statement, the committee on March 2 carried out a comprehensive stocktaking exercise, reviewing forward and futures prices of petroleum products, resilience of regional and international supply chains, and potential foreign exchange implications stemming from price volatility.

Petroleum rates were earlier revised upward by a maximum of Rs 8 per litre affective from March 1. The adjustment reflected a bullish trend in international oil markets, driven by geopolitical instability and anticipated supply constraints following targeted attacks on Iran by the US and Israel.

The price of petrol was increased by 3 percent (Rs 8 per litre), while high-speed diesel (HSD) was gone up by Rs5.16 per litre or 1.8 percent.

Following the revision, the price of petrol had gone up from Rs 258.17 to Rs 266.17 per litre, whereas, the rate of HSD was also raised from Rs 275.70 to Rs 280.86 per litre for fortnight ending on March 15.