ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered strict action against petrol pumps found involved in hoarding or creating artificial shortages, directing cancellation of licenses in case of violations, while petrol pump owners denied the allegations and blamed supply-side issues.
Chairing a high-level meeting on petroleum products in light of the evolving regional situation, the prime minister was briefed by the Petroleum Division on the country’s fuel stock position.
Officials informed the meeting that Pakistan currently holds adequate petroleum product reserves to meet national requirements.
The prime minister directed provincial governments to take strict legal action against elements involved in hoarding petroleum products and creating artificial shortages in the market.
He warned that any petrol pump found involved in the “heinous practice” of creating artificial scarcity should be immediately sealed, its license cancelled, and legal action initiated.
The prime minister also directed the petroleum minister to visit provinces and work with provincial governments to prepare a strategy for ensuring conservation of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply to consumers.
He further instructed authorities to develop a digital dashboard to monitor the movement of petroleum products across the country.
According to officials, the dashboard will enable real-time data sharing with provinces and allow authorities to closely monitor transportation and distribution of petroleum products.
Meanwhile, reports from several cities indicated panic buying by consumers amid concerns over possible supply disruptions, leading to long queues at petrol pumps and rapid depletion of stocks at some outlets. In certain areas, pumps temporarily ran dry while others began providing limited quantities of fuel to customers to manage demand.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Ahsan Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Owais Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmad, chief secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and senior officials.
However, the Petrol Pump Owners Association rejected the prime minister’s announcement of action against petrol pumps, terming the allegations of artificial shortages “unfounded”.
Vice Chairman of the association Nauman Butt said petrol pump owners were not creating artificial shortages, adding that the fuel reaching pumps was being sold immediately.
He said no petrol pump was hoarding petrol or diesel and sales were continuing normally across outlets.
The association maintained that fuel availability at pumps depends on the level of supply being provided by oil marketing companies.
It argued that if any action was required, it should be taken against companies responsible for supplying petroleum products and those involved in planning supply and demand.
Petrol pump owners also criticized the warning of cancelling petrol pump licenses, saying such a move was unjustified under the current circumstances.
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