pshawar: According to media reports, road closures to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resistant district have resulted in severe reduction of mandatory goods and according to media reports, petrol is being sold at a cost of a liter per liter.
Local residents say petrol pump owners are receiving arbitrary prices for petrol, and the drivers are limited to purchases of more than 5 to 10 liters at a time.
According to Syed Akhlaq Hussain, chairman of Upper Karam Shah Khel, “two days ago, the price of petrol was Rs 1000 per liter, but by last night, the price of the price per liter has increased to Rs 1,200.”
He added that while petrol is available in small quantities, the diesel is not fully available in the market. Local dealer Nawab Ali explained that since November, the oil tankers have not been providing fuel to the area due to the deteriorating security situation.
“After the end of law and order, access to the road was banned, but after negotiations with the JIRGA (tribal council), some vehicles started reaching the convoy,” he said. However, Ali added that when food is coming, oil tankers are not allowed to enter the region.
Ali also claimed that heavy bribery was being demanded at the TAL outpost, which caused significant financial loss to the drivers. “There is a shortage of gasoline for the vehicles that leave, which causes the crowd to flare in the petrol stations,” he said.
Gul Nawaz Afridi, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Petroleum Association, said local dealers in the Karam have a limited number of vehicles, and oil tanker owners belonging to nearby districts are not ready to send their trucks to Karma.
Afridi explained, “Due to the concerns of attacks on convoys in the Karam, the oil tankers are not entering the district, which is lacking fuel.” He assured that officials of the local Petroleum Association are in touch, and the fuel problem will be resolved soon.
In response, district administration officials said efforts were underway to remove gas shortage. Oil tanker dealers and petrol pump owners have been discussed, and security arrangements will be made to reach Prakinar, the central city of Karam.
It is noteworthy that in November 2024, a gun attack on a convoy from Peshawar led to the tribal conflict, which cut off connection with other districts.
