An emergency meeting has been scheduled by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) to determine the next steps in their nationwide strike.
The decision about whether to continue the gasoline pump strike will be made at the 6 p.m. meeting.
According to PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan,
there haven’t been any talks with the administration or government yet.
He emphasized that there are more than 525 gas pumps in Karachi; the only ones that are still operational are those that are run by companies or corporate dealers.
According to him, the city normally sells between 3.5 and 4 million liters of gasoline and diesel per day.
The majority of gas pumps in major cities, including Lahore and Karachi, remained operating despite some gas stations closing due to the petroleum dealers’ walkout against federal budget taxes earlier in the day.
Today at six in the morning, the owners of almost 13,000 gas stations across the country called for a day-long shutdown in protest of the taxes included in the federal budget.
Some gas stations in Karachi carried on as usual on Friday morning, particularly those around Rashid Minhas Road, University Road, and Shahrah-e-Faisal. However, many remained closed.
On the other hand, most Lahore gas outlets paid no attention to the strike.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the Petroleum Division have issued guidelines requiring gas stations to remain operational.
In a joint statement with the Petroleum Division, OGRA spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi confirmed that petroleum products would continue to be accessible nationwide. The declaration guaranteed that “there is an adequate supply of petroleum products in the country.”
