A delegation of petroleum dealers, led by Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh, held talks with Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik in Islamabad on Wednesday over their demands, but the meeting ended without a breakthrough.
The minister met the delegation for around 20 minutes before leaving after being summoned by the prime minister. A subsequent meeting between dealers and senior officials from relevant ministries and departments continued for nearly five hours but failed to produce an agreement.
Mr Bakhsh said the dealers had asked the minister to honour his commitment to approve their demands within 15 days. However, Mr Malik said he could not fulfil the promise as such decisions rested with the prime minister.
The minister told the delegation that a Rs1.34 per litre increase in dealers’ margins, pending for two years, had been forwarded to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and was awaiting Federal Cabinet approval.
The dealers, however, are seeking an 8 per cent increase in their margins. Mr Bakhsh said the current margin of Rs8.64 per litre effectively falls to around Rs2.20 after expenses.
The PPDA executive committee will meet in Karachi on Friday to review the negotiations and decide on the planned closure of petrol pumps from Aug 15, Mr Bakhsh said.
