ISLAMABAD – Pakistan faces possible oil supply disruption as petrol pump owners announced indefinite strike from Thursday, following talks with government over daily pricing mechanism for POL products and dealers’ commission collapsed.
The All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association, claiming to be the representative body of 15,000 petrol pumps, Tuesday announced that all petrol pumps across the country will be closed indefinitely from mid night Wednesday (i.e., start of July 23, 2026). The strike will continue until the government addresses our legitimate demands positively and acceptably, the association announced here.
“I am reiterating that all petrol pumps will remain completely closed from 12:00 AM on July 22, 2026,” Vice Chairman APPPOA, Nauman Ali Butt announced here. The APPPOA also announced that the Tanker Association has extended its support to the APPPOA strike call.
The federal government has jacked up the prices of Petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs 4.93 per liter and Rs 7.15 per liter, respectively, effective for one day (July 22).
“Based on revised petroleum pricing mechanism, issued by Federal Government, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has revised the ex-depot prices of the petroleum products for 22nd July, 2026 “said a press release issued by the Petroleum Division here Tuesday.
The price of Kerosene Oil has also been increased by Rs 6.78 per liter, said a separate notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority.
Following the hike, Petrol will go up to 320.73 per liter from the existing Rs 315.80 per liter, while after increase HSD will go up to Rs 367.21 per liter from the existing Rs 360.06 per liter. The new prices will be effective for today (Wednesday) only.The Kerosene oil after the hike will go up to Rs 289.37 per liter from the existing Rs 282.59 per liter.
Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, three wheelers and two-wheelers, while high-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector.
Notably, for July 21, the federal government had jacked up the high-speed diesel by Rs 5.71 per liter, while slashed petrol by Rs 0.35 per liter.
On July 17, the government had jacked up the prices of petrol by Rs 5.44 per liter and high-speed diesel by Rs 31.05 per liter effective for the next three days (18 to 20 July).For the week ended July 17, the federal government had jacked up the prices of petrol Rs 13.18 per liter and high-speed diesel by Rs 13.80 per liter.
The announcement came after meeting between Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and a delegation of the APPPOA led by Chairman Humayun Khan. The two sides failed to reach an agreement on the proposed pricing mechanism and dealers’ commission.
Speaking at a press conference- after meeting with Federal Minister for Petroleum- APPPOA Chairman Humayun Khan said talks with the government ended without any breakthrough, prompting the association to call for a nationwide shutdown of petrol pumps.
The association is demanding a review of the daily pricing mechanism, an increase in dealers’ commissions and greater participation of petrol pump owners in policymaking.
Flanked by Vice Chairman Nauman Ali Butt, and provincial office-bearers of the associations, APPPOA Chairman Humayun Khan said discussions with the government ended without any breakthrough, prompting the association to call for a nationwide shutdown of petrol pumps.
“APPPOA’s two key demands were; payment of dealer commission as a percentage (instead of the existing per liter), and reverting to monthly POL price determination from daily mechanism,” Humayun Khan stated.
Khan said petrol pump owners were already facing severe financial pressures from regulators, oil marketing companies and government policies. He warned that frequent price changes would disrupt the fuel retail business. The association criticized the government for failing to adequately consult industry stakeholders before introducing major policy changes.
He demanded hike in dealer commission saying that pump owners are struggling under mounting financial pressure.He also urged the government to replace the current daily fuel price adjustment mechanism with monthly price revisions, arguing that the existing system creates uncertainty for dealers and consumers alike.
APPPOA chairman criticized the current daily pricing mechanism, saying petrol pump owners are caught between the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), oil marketing companies (OMCs), and the government, making it increasingly hard to run their businesses.
Khan said that the government is not resolving the problems faced by business owners. The strike will begin at midnight Wednesday unless their demands are addressed, he announced.
Vice Chairman APPOA said that dealers rejected the government’s plan to revise petroleum prices on a daily basis, arguing that prices should instead be adjusted monthly. He also called for an immediate resolution of the dealers’ commission issue.
A nationwide shutdown could disrupt the supply and availability of petroleum products.
