Pakistan: Pumps run out of petrol

Amid a severe economic crisis, most of the petrol pumps in the Punjab region of Pakistan ran out of petrol disrupting the routine life of people. In distant places where there have been no supplies for the pumps for more than a month, the situation is terrible, Dawn reported.

The lack of gasoline in Punjab remains despite assurances that there are an adequate supply and government threats to take harsh action against hoarders.

On the other side, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has blamed all Oil marketing companies (OMCs) for failing to ensure appropriate supplies in response to demand, leaving the pumps empty and forcing drivers to go for gas in urban areas, according to Dawn.

The OMC Association of Pakistan (OMAP), which rejected the claim, stated that some gas stations were participating in stockpiling gasoline and creating fake shortages in order to increase earnings in light of the anticipated hike in gasoline prices.

Amid severe fuel shortages due to the poor economy, several petrol pumps in major and small cities of Punjab have been closed, Dawn reported.

The situation appears to be worst in certain large towns, such as Lahore, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad, where numerous petrol pumps have reportedly been running on a poor or nonexistent supply of petrol for many days as a result of pressure from the oil marketing companies (OMCs).

"In Lahore, around 70 of the total 450 pumps are dry. The areas where the pumps are closed due to shortage of petrol include Shahdra, Wagah, Litton Road and Jain Mandar," Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association's secretary of information Khawaja Atif told Dawn.

According to local media, petrol is severely in limited supply in several cities of Pakistan. The majority of the gas stations are shut. Few are open, and those that only offer a little quantity of gasoline. At these gas stations, there are long lines of cars and bikes.

Notably, the oil companies of Pakistan are on the verge of 'collapse' due to a reeling economic crisis and devaluation of the currency.