Govt rejects petroleum dealers’ monthly pricing demand

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has rejected a demand from petroleum dealers for monthly fuel pricing, saying the government will keep its daily price-setting system in place. Dawn reported that the minister voiced displeasure at a 72-hour strike ultimatum issued by the dealers. The remark came after a delegation of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, headed by its chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh, met him in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The minister stayed for only 20 minutes before the prime minister summoned him, and senior officials then held a five-hour meeting without reaching any conclusion. Malik Khuda Bakhsh said the dealers had asked the minister to honour his promise of approving their demands within 15 days, but he replied that the decision rested with the prime minister.

The minister had assured the delegation that a Rs1.34 per litre margin increase, pending for two years, has been sent to the Economic Coordination Committee and awaits Federal Cabinet approval. Dealers are seeking an 8 per cent rise, and Khuda Bakhsh claimed their current margin of Rs8.64 per litre shrinks to Rs2.20 after various expenses. The association's 30-member executive committee will meet in Karachi on Friday to review talks and decide on a planned pump shutdown from August 15.