KARACHI: In a massive drive against illegal petrol pumps across the country, provincial authorities in three provinces (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh) have sealed around 750 illegal petrol pumps.
The illegal petrol pumps were sealed on the orders of the Ministry of Interior. The home departments of the three provinces submitted their reports of action in their respective provinces with the Ministry of Interior by sharing data relating to illegal petrol pumps in these three provinces.
Punjab took the lead by sealing over 500 illegal petrol pumps, followed by KP and Sindh. According to reports by the Punjab home department, 516 illegal petrol pumps were sealed in the province with the highest number of 123 illegal petrol pumps sealed in District Lodhran, followed by Khanewal and Toba Tek Sindh districts with 95 and 56 illegal pumps sealed, respectively.
In KP, 172 pumps operating illegally were sealed with the highest number of 65 illegal petrol pumps sealed in the provincial capital, Peshawar. In Sindh, district authorities sealed 55 illegal petrol pumps with the highest number of 32 illegal petrol pumps sealed in District Kamber Shahdadkot.
According to industry insiders in the oil sector, the federal government’s action will help the legal oil sector to thrive once illegal pumps are sealed. “This was made possible through joint efforts by federal and provincial authorities in coordination with the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC)”, they added.