LAHORE: The nation faces the risk of petrol shortages as petroleum dealers have threatened to observe a strike countrywide, BOL News reported.

The petroleum dealers are demanding a hike in the commission on the sale of petroleum products from the government. Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association has threatened to close all petrol pumps across the country.

PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan said that they cannot operate with the current margin. The petroleum dealers demanded the government restore the 5 percent dealers’ margin.

He announced that an emergency session of the dealers has been summoned in Lahore on July 12 (tomorrow). The demands from the government will be finalized in the meeting.

He claimed that the sale of petroleum products has dropped by 40 percent due to smuggled petrol and diesel in the country.

Due to the increase in electricity, salary of employees, interest rate, taxes, and other expenses, it is impossible to work on the current margin, he said. He said there are currently 12,000 outlets across the country. He said it is better to stop working than to work on existing margins.

Last year, the dealers had demanded to fix the dealer’s margin at 6% and threatened to observe a countrywide strike.

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