PM Shehbaz directs petroleum minister to devise plan for petrol conservation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed provincial governments to immediately seal petrol pumps involved in hoarding fuel, cancel their licenses, and initiate legal proceedings against those creating artificial shortages of petroleum products in the country.

Chairing a high-level meeting on the availability of petroleum products, the prime minister instructed provincial authorities to take strict legal action against hoarders.

During a briefing by the Ministry of Petroleum on the availability of petroleum products amid the evolving regional situation, officials informed the meeting that sufficient stocks were available in the country to meet national demand.

Prime Minister Shehbaz directed the Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik to visit the provinces and, in collaboration with the provincial governments, prepare an action plan and strategy for conserving petroleum products and ensuring their uninterrupted supply to the public.

He further instructed authorities to establish a dashboard to monitor the movement of petroleum products, enabling real-time data sharing with provinces to track transportation and supply.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Awais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmad, chief secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, along with senior government officials.