There are again fears of petrol crisis developing in the country as on the call given by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, a majority of petrol pumps in the country are closed Friday to register a protest against the levy of 0.5 per cent Advance Tax in the budget as the government’s committee formed to review the demands of the Association has failed to make up its mind whether to accept them or reject them.  Senior officials of the Petroleum Division and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), who are part of the government’s committee, had a meeting at the Petroleum Division last night to discuss the demands of the Association, but the latter said they still had not been told whether their demands had been accepted.  The situation has created great inconvenience for motorists, who are visiting one pump after the other only to find them shut.  Partial strike observed in Lahore Despite the call given by the petroleum dealers association for the strike, not all petrol pumps in Lahore were closed.  Petroleum products to remain available throughout country On the other hand, the Petroleum Division and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) have said that petroleum products will remain available today throughout the country.

They have directed all oil marketing companies to ensure that the shortage of these products was not caused. They have also directed the petrol pumps’ owners to keep their pumps open. Spokesman for the OGRA has said that petroleum products in the country are in abundance. On the other hand, Pakistan State Oil’s spokesman, too, has assured consumers that there was no interruption in the supply of fuel to pumps. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, the office-bearers of the Association had expressed concern over the levy of the tax. They said they had held negotiations with the concerned government officials which failed to produce the required results. The office-bearers made it clear there could be no further negotiations unless the government the Association’s demands, and pumps would remain shut for an indefinite time period. They were of the view that taxes ruined businesses. They went on to say time and again they brought their reservations to the notice of the government, but in vain, and now they had been left with no other option but to go on strike.  There are a total 13,000 petroleum dealers’ pumps across the country.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan