917 illegal petrol pumps sealed in nationwide crackdown

ISLAMABAD: Provincial governments have launched a crackdown on illegal petrol pumps operating without K-Forms (explosive licence) and sealed 917 POL outlets across the country.

“The crackdown targets pumps abandoned or surrendered by oil marketing companies (OMCs). Thousands of illegal ‘dabba’ stations are still operating, openly selling smuggled products. It was recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue to take a phased approach. First, close all the illegal pumps operating without K-Forms, meaning they lack an explosive licence,” top officials told The News.

“In the next phase, action will be taken against those involved in selling smuggled POL products and against agencies operating on L-Forms but selling high-speed diesel (HSD) instead of kerosene oil (SKO).”

According to the latest official data, 1,310 illegal retail oil outlets sell smuggled petroleum products. Out of these, 749 are in Punjab, 183 in Sindh, 250 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and 128 in Balochistan. Official reports confirm that 1,107 of these outlets have faced stern action.

The Punjab government acted against 645 outlets, sealing 559 of them. In Sindh, 153 outlets were targeted, with 58 sealed. The KPK government launched a crackdown on 181 outlets, sealing 172. The Balochistan government sealed all 128 illegal outlets.

In total, 917 petrol pumps operating without K-Forms have been shut down, while 190 petrol pumps were found to be non-operational or untraceable.

According to data obtained by The News, in Punjab, the breakdown of sealed illegal petrol pumps is as follows: four in Bahawalnagar, two in Bahawalpur, 21 in Bhakkar, six in Dera Ghazi Khan, 53 in Faisalabad, four in Gujranwala, two in Gujrat, six in Kasur, 92 in Khanewal, 13 in Lahore, seven in Layyah, 126 in Lodhran, 12 in Mianwali, 76 in Multan, 10 in Muzaffargarh, 10 in Kot Addu, 11 in Nankana, 17 in Narowal, two in Okara, four in Pakpattan, seven in Rahim Yar Khan, 30 in Rajanpur, one in Rawalpindi, four in Sahiwal, three in Sargodha, six in Sheikhupura, 30 in Sialkot and 64 in Toba Tek Singh.

In Sindh, one illegal petrol pump was sealed in East Karachi, three in West Karachi, one in Keamari, 23 in Dadu, 31 in Badin, two in Tando Muhammad Khan, four in Tando Allahyar, three in Mirpurkhas, six in Shaheed Benazirabad, three in Naushahro Feroze, five in Khairpur, one in Ghotki and 32 in Kamber Shahdadkot.

In KPK, 65 petrol pumps were shut in Peshawar, 21 in Mardan, three in Haripur, three in Malakand, nine in Buner, six in Lower Dir, one in Lakki Marwat, one in Bannu, nine in Swabi, eight in Nowshera, three in North Waziristan, three in South Waziristan and 38 in Charsadda. In Balochistan, all 128 illegal petrol outlets were sealed.