QUETTA, Dec 14: A petrol shortage in Balochistan created a serious situation when most filling stations in Quetta and other towns of were closed after oil companies stopped supplies.

A large number of private and public vehicles were off the road on Sunday because of the shortage. “Even petrol smuggled from Iran is not available at unauthorised fuel stations,” a source told Dawn.

The problem surfaced when pump owners refused to sell petrol at reduced rates after the government cut prices in line with a reduction in oil prices in the international market. The row persisted for several days but petrol was available at most filling stations.

A day before Eid, the owners of filling stations started putting up handwritten notices saying “petrol is not available”.

People complained that filling stations getting fuel supplies from Punjab or Sindh were charging exorbitant rates.

“They are selling petrol at Rs110 to Rs120 a litre and officials are not bothered about the situation,” a university student, Shaukat Ali, said. He was lucky enough to get hold of three litres of petrol for his motorcycle.

People involved in smuggling Iranian petrol are also skinning people by selling petrol at rates ranging between Rs140 and Rs150 a litre. They used to sell it at Rs45 to Rs50 a liter before the crisis.

Pump owners denied black marketing allegations and blamed oil companies for the crisis.

“The oil company is providing us with only 10,000 litres of petrol a week,” the owner of a petrol pump, Zahid Hasan, said, adding that it amounted to just 20 hours of sale.

He said that when pump owners phoned oil companies, they complained of shortage of oil tankers and some even said that petrol was not available in Karachi. “In this situation, we have no option but to wait for the company supply.”

However, representatives of oil companies rejected allegations leveled against them and claimed that the petrol crisis had started because of a shortage of smuggled Iranian petrol that had increased the demand for Pakistani petrol.

“Oil companies are unable to meet petrol dealers’ sudden increase in demand in Quetta,” an oil company official told Dawn. He said that petrol was in short supply in Karachi because oil refineries had reduced their supply.

“Oil refineries have reduced their production because of the payment dispute with the government,” he said, adding that the government owed Rs1 billion to the refineries.

Rickshaw drivers, motorcycle owners and car rental business had been hit the most by petrol shortage.

“I have not been able to earn anything for the past week. The provincial government must intervene and ensure a smooth supply of petrol at government rates,” Mohammad Hashim, a rickshaw driver, said.

“Our vehicles are parked in garages due to the shortage,” Ashfaqur Rehman, who runs a rent-a-car business said.