CHITRAL: The owners of petrol pumps have demanded of the federal petroleum minister to accept the demands of the carriage contractors of Pakistan State Oil to help end their strike which is continuing for last 10 days, causing shortage of diesel and petrol in Chitral.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the president of petrol pump owners association Liaquat Ali, secretary general Munir Ahmed and treasurer Qazi Zahir Mohammad said in the absence of replenishment due to the strike of contractors, the stock with them had almost finished.

Supporting the demand of the carriage contractors, they said the rates of carriage of petroleum had not been revised during last 10 years in hard areas like Chitral, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

They urged the federal ministry of petroleum and management of PSO to make the talks with carriage contractors scheduled to be held on Wednesday (Dec 27) result-oriented, leading to end of the strike.

The petrol pump owners also demanded of the provincial government to provide them with security as their safety was jeopardised by the people who were enraged due to acute shortage of petrol and diesel.

They said the daily consumption of petrol and diesel in the district was about 150,000 litres and the situation would turn to worse if the carriage contractors did not end their strike.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2017