THE news about All-Pakistan Oil Tankers Association (APOTA ) left me aghast as its stance seems quite unreasonable in view of the fact that the security agenda must be put into priority. The new safety regulations were revised by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to avoid tragedies like Ahmedpur Sharqia.

The APOTA must be reminded about ethics. As an organisation it must not try to monopolise oil supply and instead work for its betterment to enhance safety features. These regulations guarantee the safety of individuals on the road, but some awareness must be spread among the people about the standard operating procedure in such tragedies if such tragedies.

The association must be reminded of no less than 12 oil tanker accidents occurring in the past month only. The companies will have to spend about one million rupees on every tanker, but it must not be considered as cost, rather as an investment toward protecting human life.

It is about time the safety regulations were strictly implemented to avoid any possibility of fatal accident in the future.

K. Suleman

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2017