KARACHI: Pakistan’s fuel pump operators on Friday decided to provisionally call off their previously planned indefinite nationwide strike, which was supposed to begin on Saturday evening, after the government responded to their concerns by promising to address the issues and agreeing to implement a reasonable increase in their profit margin.

Chairman of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Abdul Sami Khan announced the strike a day earlier, seeking an increase in the profit margin and raising concerns over the influx of smuggled fuel from neighboring Iran.

He highlighted that increasing utility prices, interest rates, and labor costs had been progressively eroding the income and profitability of fuel pump operators, rendering it unsustainable for them to carry on with their business operations.

Khan also emphasized that the smuggling of Iranian diesel had caused a significant 30 percent decline in the sales of petroleum dealers, as the availability of illegal fuel from the neighboring country had spread across Pakistan.

A written statement, jointly signed by the petroleum minister Dr. Musadik Malik and the PPDA chairman, said the strike had been deferred until Monday.

“It is agreed that there should be an upward reasonable revision in dealers’ margin,” it continued. “The increased margins will be ascertained based on actual data acceptable to all concerned stakeholders.”

“The revised margin number will be announced within the next ‘Forty Eight’ hours, i.e. Monday July 24th 2023,” added the statement.

Earlier, the petroleum minister told the media the government would make evidence-based policy over the issue by surveying petrol pumps on Monday.

However, the two sides agreed that fuel smuggling from Iran was damaging the local market.

The government also clarified it did not independently set the prices of petroleum products, stating that the rates were determined on a fortnightly basis, taking into consideration the volatility in the international oil market and the value of the US dollar.