Fuel dealers dismiss July 5 strike call

Say filling stations will stay open nationwide, favour in-depth talks

KARACHI:

Most of the leaders of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) have announced that they will not join the strike called for July 5 (Friday).

In a statement, the petroleum retailers emphasised that they would take the path of detailed negotiations with the authorities before opting for extreme options like an indefinite strike.

After giving the strike call, negotiations are useless, so petrol pumps will remain open all over the country on July 5, as the economy cannot be jammed at this critical juncture, they announced.

PPDA spokesperson Hasan Shah, while talking to petroleum dealers, said “we have protested in the past as well. We have also closed D-Chowk and blocked Faizabad Interchange. We have also protested outside the National Assembly and Senate.”

However, he underlined that negotiations were still the best option while the strike should be the last option. He said that a delegation, led by PPDA Rawalpindi leader Nauman Ali Butt, met Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervez Malik and informed him that petroleum dealers may be charged either fixed tax or regular tax.

“A business cannot be taxed both ways, and if it were to do so, it would be illegal and the petrol pumps would be shut down,” they said.

The minister asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman to resolve the issue, who had assured all-out cooperation.

Shah said that detailed discussions were ongoing. “If there is no success, then any decision will be taken after consultation with the organisation of each district of the country.” “We reject the strike call by some dealers in Karachi because they are working for the interests of oil marketing companies and not concerned about their own community,” Shah said.

He said that individuals could not be allowed to impose their decisions on the whole community.