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Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Strike: In Pakistan, which is struggling with economic crisis, it may now be difficult for the general public to get every drop of petrol and diesel. The Government of Pakistan has taken a decision regarding the prices of petroleum products, which has angered petrol pump owners across the country.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has announced that petrol and diesel prices will now be decided on a daily basis instead of every seven days. Petrol pump owners have opened a front against this move of the government and have announced to go on indefinite strike and dharna.

OGRA’s new decree

Federal Minister for Petroleum Affairs Ali Pervez Malik has informed that after the approval of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, now OGRA will determine the oil prices every day. These new prices will be made public on the website of the authority daily. According to the data, on July 22, the price of petrol in Pakistan was recorded at Rs 320.73 per liter and the price of diesel was recorded at Rs 367.21 per liter.

Iran-America tension had a direct impact

The Government of Pakistan has blamed international conditions for this policy change. According to Federal Minister Ali Parvez Malik, due to the ongoing military tension between Iran and America for some time, there has been a huge rise in the prices of crude oil in the global market. In view of this uncertainty, the government has decided to release prices on a daily basis, so that the fluctuations in the market can be accurately assessed.

There will be an immediate impact on the public

The government said that this decision will bring transparency in pricing of petroleum products. According to Information Minister Atta Tarar, earlier it used to take a week for the benefits of falling prices in the global market to reach the public. Now if prices reduce in the international market, consumers will be able to get the benefits immediately. However, the government has also said that implementing this system will be challenging as the increase in prices will also have an immediate impact on the public.

Fear of outcry due to strike

On the other hand, petrol pump owners are considering this decision as impractical and have threatened to stop work in protest against it. If this strike continues for a long time, transportation and essential services in Pakistan may be adversely affected.

Meanwhile, the government has taken a strict stance and said that no petrol pump company will be allowed to hoard fuel. Now it remains to be seen how long this deadlock between the government and the protesters ends.