KARACHI: Petroleum transporters have stated that from Wednesday, they will stage a peaceful protest and sit-in outside the headquarters of a state-owned oil marketing business, threatening to cut fuel supplies across the country.
Israr Ahmed Shinwari, spokesman for the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA), told the local news media, “We have called for an indefinite peaceful protest.” “We will end the demonstration only if the government agrees to our requests and raises gasoline transportation fares, which have remained constant since 2011.”
Approximately 40,000 oil tankers deliver crude oil from the city of ports (Karachi) to the upcountry districts. “Our 40,000 members are participating in the demonstration,” he stated. “If the government does not respond to our requests within a week of our demonstration, we will launch a wheel-jam strike.”
The truck owners and the relevant oil marketing firm had agreed that rates would be adjusted in accordance with current gasoline and diesel costs, but the company “violated the agreement.”
Under the auspices of the Oil Tankers Owners Grand Committee, APOTOA has compiled a list of 20 demands to present to the government. However, no formal contact between government officials and oil transporters has yet been established. “Police authorities have approached us to request that the demonstration be called off so that they (police) can connect us with the officials involved,” he said. “However, we have refused to back down from our call for a protest.”
If the wheel-jam strike takes effect, the country will face an oil crisis, as oil trucks and tankers are a major source of fuel transportation from the seaports to the rest of the country.
On Wednesday morning, Irfanullah Khan Marwat, a former Sindh minister, would address the demonstrators at Shireen Jinnah Colony. They would then lead a parade to the oil marketing company’s headquarters in Clifton. Shinwari elaborated on the committee’s other demands, saying that no private trucks should be allowed to transport oil from one location to another in the country, and that only government-registered trucks should be part of the fleet.
“If NLC (National Logistic Cell) trucks are allowed to transport oil, they should be allowed on the condition that they fill their tankers in proper lines.” They will have to wait their turn and will not be given preferential treatment over others,” he said.
He believes the government should lower the fees for issuing truck fitness certificates, which the oil marketing company currently charges between Rs100,000 and Rs200,000 each time.
“In response to the demand presented by the oil marketing company, we have updated our trucks by increasing oil carrying capacity to 24,000 liters,” he said.
“It now demands that we reduce it to 20,000 liters.” Each truck will cost around Rs100,000. There are 40,000 trucks on the road. The change would result in a loss of millions of rupees.”
“We have made no call for a protest or a strike.” The APOTOA (or Oil Tankers Owners Grand Committee) is unable to hold the protest due to a lack of resources. “It will fail,” stated Abidullah Afridi, President of the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Contractors Association (APOTCA).
