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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Pakistan fuel tanker strike ends, panic buying stops

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KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Owners of Pakistani fuel tankers ended their protest strike on its third day on Wednesday, dispelling fears of a fuel shortage that had prompted long queues of panicked fuel buyers at petrol stations countrywide.


Pakistan has 10 to 11 days of oil stock reserves, media said, but many service stations were shuttered, and carried “Petrol Finished” signs, following panic buying in the nation of nearly 200 million people.


Tanker owners were protesting against police corruption and a new safety push by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) following one of the worst accidents in Pakistan’s history last month, a fuel tanker explosion that killed 216 people.


“The oil supply will resume by 4 pm,” said Yousaf Shiwani, president of the oil tankers’ association, adding that government officials had accepted the body’s demands to extend the timeframe to adopt the new safety measures. As fears of a fuel shortage peaked, protesters in the southern port city of Karachi attacked tankers earlier on Wednesday, at least one of them appearing to involve gunfire.


“The latest attack took place this morning, in which the tanker driver suffered gunshot injuries,” Naseem Aftab, a spokesman for Pakistan State Oil, told Reuters, adding that three of the company’s tankers had been targeted.


Government officials say safety has to improve in a country where few trucks are roadworthy, posing a danger to the public. Pakistan’s safety regulator suspected oil marketing companies were backing the strike and would “expose” the firms, its spokesman said. — Reuters


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