The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association has demanded a transparent and comprehensive forensic audit of the financial affairs of all oil refineries, saying the move could help provide consumers with relief of Rs40 to Rs50 per litre on petrol.
Speaking after an emergency meeting in Karachi, the association's Vice Chairman Anwar Kamal said that discussing relief of only Rs15 per litre without investigating refinery profits was, in his words, equivalent to granting them an NRO.
Association Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh said refineries had earned profits in three months equivalent to what they previously earned in an entire year. He called for an immediate forensic audit to establish the facts.
Vice Chairman Tariq Hassan said providing relief to consumers should not be treated as a burden on refineries, but as returning money to the public. The dealers also demanded representation in petroleum-sector policymaking and decision-making committees.
The demand comes after Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said a day earlier that cooperation from oil refineries could make it possible to reduce petrol prices by Rs15 per litre. He said the government wanted consumers to benefit from refinery profits rather than face an additional financial burden.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met a Jamaat-e-Islami delegation. The meeting discussed petroleum prices and possible measures to reduce the economic burden on low-income citizens.
