ISLAMABAD, July 18: The strike called by the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), against “double taxation” on their products, has caused shortage of edible oil and Ghee in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The association had announced that the government promised to adjust the General Sales Tax (GST) to the import duty on the raw material, but the promise was not fulfilled when the budget for the current fiscal was presented. It claimed that due to the double taxation, they were made to pay Rs17 per kilogramme of oil and Ghee.

The strike began on Wednesday even though the retailers had stopped the selling of both oil and Ghee from Tuesday. Some of the shopkeepers in the rural areas of the twin cities have been overcharging for the commodity for the past three days.