ISLAMABAD: The supply of petroleum products was partially disrupted in parts of Pakistan on Friday after petroleum dealers announced a nationwide strike to protest the government’s decision to impose an advance tax on turnover that they said would adversely impact their businesses already reeling from high taxes and inflation.
The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) gave the strike call this week, calling on the government to withdraw an advance income tax of 0.5 percent imposed in the recently passed federal budget 2024-25. As a result, a majority of privately-owned fuel stations remained closed on Friday, while outlets operated by oil marketing companies were supplying fuel to consumers, according to local media reports.
Pakistan’s tax-heavy $67.76 billion budget for the new fiscal year came into effect on Monday amid an annual inflation projection of up to 13.5 percent for June. The ambitious budget with a challenging tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion ($46.66 billion) has drawn the ire of the government’s allies and opposition alike. The revenue collection target for the new fiscal year is almost 40 percent higher than the last fiscal year.
The PPDA has said its business of selling petroleum products is already taking a hit due to staggering inflation and high taxes in Pakistan.
“We are going on a nationwide strike starting July 5 and plan to close petrol pumps across the country,” PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan told Arab News on Wednesday. “Our demand is simple: the government should immediately withdraw the advance tax decision.”
Talks between the government and the association this week failed to break the deadlock between the two sides.
Khan warned that if the government does not reverse its decision, petroleum dealers would be forced to close their businesses for good.
“We are ready to discuss our concerns and possible solutions with the government,” he said. “We request the prime minister, petroleum minister and finance minister to immediately abolish this tax, otherwise we will be unable to continue running our businesses.”
‘BLACKMAILING TACTICS’
The government, however, says it will only listen to petroleum dealers’ “genuine concerns.”
Imran Ahmed, the director-general of oil at Pakistan’s petroleum ministry, rejected the strike call, saying the government would not entertain “blackmailing tactics.”
“We will not support the strike or such tactics,” he told Arab News on Wednesday. “This new advance tax applies to all traders, not only petroleum dealers.”
He said the ministry has instructed oil marketing companies to keep as many sites open as possible to ensure a smooth supply of petroleum products in the country.
“We have also instructed PSO [Pakistan State Oil] to ensure maximum supply and storage of petroleum products by keeping their sites open,” Ahmed said.
Pakistan fuel supply partially disrupted as dealers announce nationwide strike
https://arab.news/zkmjf
Pakistan fuel supply partially disrupted as dealers announce nationwide strike
- Petroleum dealers are protesting a government move to impose 0.5% advance tax on turnover
- Government says will not give in to ‘blackmail tactics,’ ensure smooth supply of fuel countrywide
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
