WE should have seen this coming. As has become the norm over the past 10 months or so, reports of a looming shortage of any essential good or commodity have only quickened its disappearance from the market. With the state helpless, unscrupulous elements have been given free rein to hoard various items and create artificial shortages, then charge a premium for the stocks they release. Automobile fuel has become the latest commodity to disappear from some markets, especially in Punjab, as traders speculate that the government may soon be forced to increase prices in order to tie up its long-delayed deal with the IMF as well as fears that fuel may soon run out in the country due to held-up imports. There was prior warning that there could be trouble when news reports at the end of January spoke of a looming fuel supply crunch due to banks’ refusal to finance and facilitate payments for imports. The country’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, currently below $3bn, had necessitated blocking foreign payments.

Within a week, both large and small cities in Punjab were reporting rationing of fuel at pumps, prompting the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Musadik Malik, to issue a stern — but largely unheeded — warning to hoarders. The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority too shared with the Punjab chief secretary a list of locations where it believed fuel was being hoarded, for the necessary action to be taken. It remains to be seen how many will be brought to task over the matter and how many dealers’ licences will be cancelled, as warned by the minister. Meanwhile, the citizenry has little choice but to cope with the annoyance of long lines at fuelling stations and the uncertainty of not knowing when fuel supplies may run out completely. It is truly a sorry state of affairs, made worse by a government that appears clueless about how to responsibly manage an economy in crisis.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023