The All Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association on Tuesday announced a nationwide strike from midnight tomorrow after negotiations with the government over the proposed daily petroleum pricing mechanism failed to yield a breakthrough.

Association Chairman Humayun Khan said talks with Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had failed, leaving dealers with no option but to suspend operations across the country.

He said the association could not accept the government’s decision to revise petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis, arguing that dealers had demanded monthly pricing along with a review of their commission structure.

“Our dealers are already facing severe financial difficulties. Daily price revisions are not workable,” Humayun Khan said, adding that petroleum dealers had not been consulted before the policy was introduced.

He criticised the proposed mechanism as confusing and impractical, saying dealers were being caught between the government, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and oil marketing companies.

The announcement comes days after Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government had delegated the authority to determine petroleum prices to OGRA under a new pricing mechanism.

Under the policy announced on July 17, OGRA will determine petrol and high-speed diesel prices daily and publish updated rates on its website.

The regulator will use the rolling seven-day average of international oil prices as the benchmark for calculating domestic fuel prices.

The government has said the move is intended to improve transparency and allow quicker adjustments to fluctuations in global oil markets, which have recently experienced renewed volatility due to tensions in the Middle East.

The petroleum dealers, however, warned that unless the government reviews the policy and addresses their concerns, petrol pumps across Pakistan will remain closed from Wednesday at 12:00 a.m.