KARACHI: After Pakistan’s oil refineries, petroleum dealers announced their decision to oppose the deregulation of fuel prices in the country on Thursday, saying the move would adversely impact their businesses and lead to their closure.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) of Pakistan briefed the energy ministry on the possible deregulation of petroleum products on April 17, prompting five of the country’s oil refineries to write a letter in which they described it as complex and critical issue.
The deregulation proposal would empower oil marketing companies to determine fuel prices on the basis of various market forces. Local consumers getting petrol and diesel from places closer to ports and refineries would get relatively cheaper products due to the transportation cost.
“The deregulation is the death warrant for the people and the petroleum industry in the country,” Abdul Sami Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Petroleum Association, said at a media briefing along with other dealers at the Karachi Press Club. “If this is imposed on us, we will be compelled to shut down our businesses.”
The dealers present at the briefing said the deregulation would cause an increase in the prices of petroleum products and make it difficult to maintain the quality of the fuel.
They said giving mandate to oil marketing companies to determine oil prices would be unwise and lead to different market rates.
“The government wants to shift the burden of price hike to people and get rid of the public criticism amid spiraling rates of petroleum products,” Khan added.
He said the smuggled Iranian oil had been openly sold in Pakistan, though it was not refined and damaged engines of vehicles.
He also asked the government to legalize it “in the larger public interest.”
“An agreement should be made to import crude oil from Iran to end smuggling,” Khan suggested. “The crude oil bought from Iran can be refined locally.”
Malik Khuda Buksh, senior leader and founding member of the association, said the deregulation would “create chaos in the market” since everyone would be quoting their own prices.
“Under the current mechanism, the government fixes the prices and no one can charge a single paisa more,” he explained while speaking to Arab News after the news briefing. “When the deregulation takes place, every oil marketing company will give its own price like vegetable and other product sellers, which will lead to further inflation.”
Like refiners, the petroleum dealers also warned that the deregulation of petroleum prices in Pakistan would negatively impact their business.
The letter jointly written by Attock Refinery Limited, Cnergyico PK Limited, National Refinery Limited, Pakistan Refinery Limited and Pak Arab Refinery Limited said the deregulation could jeopardize nearly $6 billion of investment.
The letter maintained it was better to spend money on upgrading the refineries since it would not only result in cleaner and environment-friendly fuels of Euro-V specifications but would also help save precious foreign exchange by substantially increasing local production.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani top leaders on Thursday called on the government, international partners and organizations, health care professionals, and individuals to unite in their efforts to end malaria, one of the leading causes of illness and death in Pakistan according to the World Health Organization.
The Pakistani prime minister and president sent out the message on World Malaria Day, commemorated on April 25 each year to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. The day was instituted by WHO Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007.
According to WHO data, from January through August 2022, more than 3.4 million suspected cases of malaria were reported in Pakistan compared with the 2.6 million suspected cases reported in 2021. Over 170 000 cases were laboratory confirmed.
A rapid upsurge in cases was observed in Balochistan and Sindh provinces after devastating floods in mid-June 2022, together accounting for 78 percent of all confirmed cases. The risk was assessed by the WHO as very high considering the effect of the flood crisis on the capacity of the national health system.
“In his message on the occasion of World Malaria Day, PM emphasized collaborative efforts to strengthen health care systems, increase access to quality diagnosis and treatment, and raise awareness about the importance of prevention and control measures of malaria,” state-run Radio Pakistan said, reporting on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message.
The PM called on research and academic institutions “to flag scientific advances to both experts and the general public, international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to further scale up malaria control interventions.”
He said Pakistan had significantly enhanced free malaria testing and treatment facilities in malaria-endemic districts across the country through collaboration between the health ministry, national and international partners, provincial counterparts, NGOs and private stakeholders.
In a separate message, President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized collective efforts to curb malaria and expressed concerns over the rise in malaria cases due to the 2022 floods.
“Zardari called upon the provincial governments and other stakeholders to unite to deal with this alarming situation. He also called for raising awareness about the disease,” Radio Pakistan said.
Pakistan was hit by devastating floods in June 2022 which resulted in over 33 million people being affected, 81 districts being declared as calamity-hit and the national health infrastructure being badly impacted.
An upsurge in reported malaria cases was observed after the floods. In Sindh province, confirmed malaria cases in August 2022 reached 69,123 compared to 19,826 cases reported in August 2021. In Balochistan province, 41,368 confirmed cases were reported in August 2022 compared to 22,032 confirmed cases in August 2021. These two provinces together accounted for 78 percent of all reported confirmed cases in Pakistan in 2022. 
Reports from 62 high-burden districts indicated that additional 210,715 cases were reported in September 2022, compared to 178,657 cases reported in the same districts in August 2022.