Naveed 
The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has decided to defer the planned shutter-down strike of filling stations across the country for 48 hours. This decision came after a meeting with State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik.
Originally, the PPDA had intended to close all petrol pumps from July 22 in protest of the government’s failure to increase their profit margins.
However, following the meeting with the minister, he assured the dealers of an increase in their profit margins but declined their demand for a 5% raise.
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The government has committed to personally collecting petroleum sales data from 2,000 to 3,000 petrol pumps to assess appropriate profit margins for the dealers. This move aims to find a balanced solution to the issue.
Previously, the dealers had issued a warning, threatening to indefinitely shut down their petroleum pumps due to the government’s failure to fulfill its promise of increasing their profit margins to 5%.
Current Margin for Petrol dealers
Abdul Sami Khan, spokesperson for the association, stated during a press conference that the current margin per liter stands at Rs6, and the PPDA has been requesting an increase of Rs5 to bring it to Rs11 per liter.
Additionally, Abdul Sami alleged that the government was overlooking the rampant smuggling of Iranian petrol and diesel, which has led to a significant 30% decline in the revenues of authorized petroleum dealers.
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To ensure a resolution to this matter, the PPDA has decided to postpone the strike temporarily, giving the government an opportunity to address their concerns regarding profit margins and unauthorized fuel sales.
