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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Panic buying of petrol ahead of tankers’ strike

By our correspondents
August 21, 2017

Islamabad :The strike by oil tanker owners in the next 24 hours prompted motorists and motorcyclists on Sunday to pour into filling stations to fuel up.

Some petrol pumps ran dry, while those with fuel supplies saw long queues of vehicles. The CNG stations too attracted a large number of vehicles, which were ran on both petrol and gas.

On Saturday, the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association had decided to go on strike from Monday (today) after its talks with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority over the new safety standards failed.

In July, too, the oil tanker owners had observed a strike for three days causing a fuel shortage and driving motorists and motorcyclists from pillar to post in search of petrol. The motorists blamed their misery on the government’s inefficiency and said the government should have ensured smooth petrol supply and address the tanker owners' problems.

A salesman at a filling station confirmed the possibility of fuel shortage due to strike by oil tankers. He said if tankers didn't carry fuel from depots and refineries, petrol stocks wouldn’t be replenished at filling stations.