Petrol pump owners warn of strike over profit margin

Pakistan’s petroleum pump owners have threatened a nationwide strike, demanding that the government replace the existing fixed dealer margin of around Rs8 per litre with an 8% per litre, arguing that the current commission has become financially unsustainable.

In a video message on Tuesday, All Pakistan Petroleum Retailers Association Central Chairman Shoaib Khan said the association had repeatedly urged the government to increase dealers’ margin to 8%, but its requests had gone unanswered.

He warned that retailers could launch a nationwide strike if their demand was not met.

The final decision on whether to launch the strike would be taken at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, with representatives of petroleum retailers’ associations from across the country set to participate, he added.

“We may call for a nationwide strike from midnight on Wednesday.”

Khan also criticised the government’s recently introduced mechanism for reviewing petroleum prices on a daily basis, saying the move had been implemented without consulting dealers and would create further uncertainty for the sector.

On Tuesday, the government increased the prices of petroleum products for July 22, with petrol becoming costlier by Rs4.93 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs7.15 per litre under the newly introduced daily pricing mechanism.

The price of Motor Spirit (petrol) was increased from Rs315.80 to Rs320.73 per litre and HSD from Rs360.06 to Rs367.21 per litre.