The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association has announced plans to shut petrol pumps across Pakistan from March 26 if its demands are not met.

Speaking to the media on Friday, the association’s senior vice chairman Tariq Hassan said dealers were facing severe financial pressure due to extremely low profit margins.

He said Pakistan has around 12,000 to 14,000 petrol pumps, while dealers already pay advance income tax but continue to struggle under the current pricing structure.

According to Hassan, dealers currently receive a margin of 2.59 per cent, equivalent to Rs8.64 per litre. The association has demanded that the margin be increased to 8 per cent.

He added that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had last year recommended an increase of Rs1.68 per litre in dealers’ margins. However, the proposal was rejected after the prime minister linked the increase to the implementation of digitisation measures.

Hassan also alleged that several of the 42 oil marketing companies operating in the country were “fake” and called for investigations into their activities.

He claimed that some companies were not supplying fuel to dealers, causing shortages at several petrol pumps, while large quantities of petroleum products were allegedly being stockpiled.

The association also criticised recent increases in petroleum product prices and the petroleum levy, warning that further hikes of Rs50 to Rs60 per litre would further squeeze dealer margins.

Hassan said dealers did not want to inconvenience the public during Ramazan, but warned that petrol pumps across the country could shut down if their demands remained unresolved.