LAHORE MIRROR — The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA)on Thursday announced a nationwide strike, leading to the shutdown of petrol pumps across the country from July 22.
As per media reports, the reason behind the strike is the PPDA’s demand for an increase in distributors’ commission from the government.
The PPDA claimed that the current profit margins set by the government are not acceptable to them, and despite raising their concerns, they haven’t received any response from the authorities.
The PPDA has asked the government to raise their commission per liter by 5% for addressing their grievances. Currently, the government allocates a commission of 2.4 percent per liter to the petrol dealers, which they believe is inadequate and has resulted in financial losses for many pumps, forcing some of them to close down.
It was also reported that the PPDA also points out that the issue of smuggled petrol from Iran is exacerbating the situation, leading to a 30% decline in legitimate sales. However, they claim that the government has not taken sufficient action to put an end to this smuggling problem.
The PPDA has decided to keep petrol pumps closed until their demands are met. This nationwide shutdown is likely to have significant implications for the availability of fuel and could further escalate the situation if the government does not take prompt action to resolve the issues raised by the association.
