The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has postponed its nationwide strike, which was scheduled to begin tomorrow, Saturday. PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh announced during a press conference in Karachi that the decision followed assurances from the Petroleum Ministry regarding an increase in the profit margin for petroleum dealers.
The development comes after talks between the dealers’ representatives and the government over their longstanding demands. According to Malik Khuda Bakhsh, the atmosphere during the previous meeting with the Petroleum Minister was not conducive. However, the minister later spoke to him by phone for about half an hour and assured him that the dealers’ profit margin would be increased.
He said that, after obtaining special approval from the Prime Minister, the Petroleum Minister had indicated that the profit margin for petroleum dealers would be increased by Rs 1.34 per litre. An Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting has also been convened today following the Petroleum Minister’s intervention. Malik Khuda Bakhsh further said that oil marketing companies were also forming a special committee to abolish the quota system.
Meanwhile, PPDA Vice Chairman Tariq Hassan said that the government had set a target of digitising all petrol pumps by March 23, 2027. He said petroleum dealers had demanded an 8% increase in their profit margin, while, in principle, the margin should have been increased by 4% to 5% in line with the inflation rate.
According to Tariq Hassan, the Ministry of Petroleum has sent a summary to the Prime Minister proposing a system of daily changes in petroleum product prices. The government has allocated $50 million for the three-year inflation adjustment of dealers’ margins. He said the system of daily changes in petroleum product prices could be changed to a seven-day pricing mechanism, but the final decision would be taken by the ECC and the federal cabinet after consideration of the Prime Minister’s summary. Tariq Hassan added that following the proposed increase, the profit margin of petroleum dealers on petrol would rise to Rs 10 per litre.