Petrol pump owners call off strike call

All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association on Friday announced withdrawal of their strike call after holding successful talks with the government in Islamabad.

The Petrol Pump Owners Association said that the government addressed their demand to take their margin into account when setting the daily petrol price.

All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association President Nauman Butt said that the government gave us a 15-day deadline to address the issue.

He thanked the government for considering their demand.

Earlier, the Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association deferred its planned nationwide strike after successful negotiations with Federal Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, following government assurances to address the industry’s key concerns.

The association had announced a countrywide shutdown of petrol pumps on Thursday in protest against the government’s new daily fuel pricing mechanism and other issues affecting the petroleum retail sector. 

The strike was deferred after talks between the government and representatives of petrol pump owners.

During the meeting, the association presented three key demands. It sought an increase in profit margin from the current 2.6 per cent to 8pc, restoration of the previous fortnightly or monthly fuel price revision mechanism instead of daily pricing, and abolition of the quota system imposed by oil marketing companies.