High and dry: Unofficial hike in petrol prices leaves hundreds stranded

Fuel sold in black to tourists in Swat Valley

SWAT: The petrol crisis in Swat district, especially in the outskirts, gradually worsened throughout the week. Scores of tourists and local transport remained stranded in Kabal and Matta tehsils of the valley due to the unavailability of petrol.

The president of the transport association in Matta, Ghulam Khan, told The Express Tribune petrol was available in local stations in Matta till Monday. However, Tuesday morning, things took a sharp U-turn and stations stopped selling fuel to local transport owners. Tourists visiting the valley were able to buy their way back – in black, as petrol was sold to them at inflated prices.

The cost of going home

A tourist visiting Kalam said his car ran out of petrol in Bahrain, a hill station in Swat, and came to a halt. A local then approached him and offered a litre of petrol for Rs120. The rate was set on June 1 at Rs77.9 per litre. “I had no option but to accept his offer,” Faisal Khan added, saying the prices hiked to Rs150 per litre after an hour.

Zahoor Khan, the owner of a petrol pump in Mingora, said his filling station has been out of petrol for a while now as he has not received the shipment. His car is also parked inside the station because of shortage of fuel. “Multi-national companies want to create an artificial crisis of petrol in the entire country” he claimed, saying he is not selling petrol in black like others.

Locals are also having problems reaching their workplaces because of lack of transport in the region.

Murad Khan, an employer at a private bank in Mingora and a resident of Matta, said he was able to get to work just fine on Monday. However, Tuesday morning was a different story altogether as transporters said they were all out of fuel and grounded their vehicles.

“If this situation doesn’t improve, his salary would take a hit as he won’t be able to reach work on time,” he complained.

Swat Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Aslam Wazir told The Express Tribune the district government was striving to solve the crisis, and maintain law and order in the region. “But this problem is not one created from within the district,” he remarked.

Wazir said he has issued orders – anyone found guilty of selling petrol in black will be fined and jailed.

“I have written an application to the provincial government to provide us with petrol to overcome the crisis,” he explained. He has not received any replies from the government as yet.

Oil prices in the country have increased by about 16% due to fluctuations in global crude oil prices, contributing to the petrol crisis seen in other parts Pakistan as well, including some parts of Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2015.