PM orders sealing, license cancellation of petrol pumps hoarding fuel

ISLAMABAD, Mar 6 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the provincial governments to immediately seal, cancel the license and initiate legal proceedings against any petrol pump involved in creating artificial shortages of petroleum products in the country.

The prime minister, chairing a high-level meeting on the availability of petroleum products, instructed the provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products.

During the briefing by Ministry of Petroleum on the availability of petroleum products amid the changing regional situation, it was said that adequate stocks of petroleum products were available in the country to meet national requirements.

Prime Minister Shehbaz directed the Minister for Petroleum to visit the provinces and, in collaboration with the provincial governments, prepare an action plan and strategy for conserving petroleum products and ensuring their uninterrupted supply to the public.

He also instructed the creation of a dashboard for monitoring the movement of petroleum products, through which real-time data would be shared with the provinces to oversee the transportation of the products.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Awais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmad, chief secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, along with senior government officials.