Petroleum Dealers Strike Call Triggers Panic Buying Across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: People rushed to petrol pumps across Pakistan and formed long queues on Thursday in an attempt to get their vehicle tanks refilled ahead of a daylong shutter-down protest called by fuel stations for today.

The strike by the owners of around 13,000 fuel stations countrywide was set to start from 6am. Chairman of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan said that the strike might be extended beyond one day.

He said that they will review the situation at around 2-2:30pm and design a future strategy to convince the government to withdraw 0.5% advance turnover tax imposed on the dealers in the 2024-25 budget.

Earlier, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association held talks with the government representatives, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and top officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority for the withdrawal of the 0.5% advance turnover tax on the fuel sales. However, the talks ended inconclusive, while the interaction between the two sides remained disconnected since then.

In a statement, the Petroleum Division and Ogra said that “all oil marketing companies have been directed to ensure ample supply of petroleum at petrol pumps and keep them open”. The statement further said that petroleum products would be available nationwide.