Gas pumps across the country staged a partial strike last Friday as oil traders remained divided on strike calls against the 0.5% sales tax introduced in the federal budget for 2024-25.
However, a group of optimistic union leaders announced that they would not support the strike as they wanted to negotiate with the authorities again before going on an indefinite strike.
PPDA General Secretary Noman Ali Butt dismissed reports of a national strike and said the supply of petroleum products in the country will remain as usual.
On the other hand, the spokesperson of PPDA, Hasan Shah told the oil sellers: “We have opposed it in the past. We have also blocked the interchange of D-Chowk and Faizabad.
Meanwhile, many petrol pumps in Karachi remained open on Friday morning, but some were operating normally on University Road and Sharea Faisal.
Petrol stations in Lahore have not publicly ordered a strike, with the Punjab Oil Dealers Association saying they will still not close petrol pumps despite the collapse of talks with the government.
While petrol pump owners in Lodhran called off their strike, they continued to sell fuel across the city.
Meanwhile, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and the Ministry of Petroleum have announced the availability of petroleum products across the country, stating that there is sufficient availability of petroleum products.
“The issue of PPDA has been discussed with the FBR and the Finance Department,” he said, Thursday.
In a joint statement, they said they have asked all oil marketing companies (OMCs) to ensure the supply and availability of petroleum products at petrol pumps.
He said that a monitoring cell has been set up in the DG (Nebit) office to monitor the fuel supply situation and coordinate among stakeholders during the Oil Dealers strike, while OGRA will mobilize a monitoring team to monitor the situation and take remedial measures.
According to the statement, all provincial chief secretaries have been asked to take appropriate measures to keep the maximum number of shops open.
It has also been asked to allow movement of oil tankers during the day to replenish stocks in open retail areas.
