Islamabad, Aug 11 (IANS) Petroleum dealers in Pakistan on Tuesday announced a closure of petrol pumps across the nation from August 15 and warned to continue the stir until the government agrees to their demands, local media reported.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Chairman Malik Khuda Baksh said that the decision to shut down petrol pumps was taken during a meeting of dealers, Pakistan-based daily 'The Express Tribune' reported.

"The association has given the government a 72-hour ultimatum and warned that dealers will not be able to continue operating petrol pumps if their demands are not accepted."

Malik Khuda Baksh said that the petroleum dealers have been calling for an eight per cent margin on petrol, adding that the association has been facing pressure from its 14,000 members, leading Pakistani daily 'The Express Tribune' reported.

He said that petrol pumps in Pakistan will remain shut until the authorities do not agree to the demands of dealers. He stated that dealers had given two weeks to government to address their demands and that the deadline had expired.

On July 22, All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) had postponed its planned closure of petrol pumps for two weeks after Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik assured dealers that their issues would be addressed. The APPPOA had requested Pakistan's Ministry of Petroleum to review the policy under which prices of fuel are decided on a daily basis.

On July 17, Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Information Minister Atta Tarar announced that the fuel prices will be revised on a daily basis amid volatility in global oil prices after renewed hostilities in West Asia, adding that the changing rates would be published by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on its website. He stated that the Ogra would decide the price of fuel on a regular basis based on international market trends. Since early March, the Pakistan government had been deciding fuel prices on a weekly basis.

--IANS

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