Key Points
- ECC approves revision in dealers’ margins on Motor Spirit and High-Speed Diesel.
- Decision follows PPDA’s postponement of its nationwide strike after government assurances.
- Special committee to consider oil marketing companies’ demand to abolish the quota system.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Friday approved a revision in the margins of petroleum dealers on Motor Spirit (MS) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD), paving the way for an increase sought by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA).
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the ECC meeting at the Finance Division, which considered a Petroleum Division summary seeking revision of dealers’ margins on petroleum products.
The decision followed the PPDA’s postponement of its planned nationwide strike after the government assured the association that dealers’ margins would be increased.
PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Baksh said Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had contacted him by telephone and assured him of an increase in the dealers’ margin.
According to Baksh, the minister indicated an increase of Rs1.34 after securing special approval from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Baksh said the ECC meeting had been convened following the petroleum minister’s intervention. He added that the government would also form a special committee to examine oil marketing companies’ demand for abolition of the quota system.
Finance Minister Chairs ECC, Approves Revision in Dealers’ Margins on Petroleum Products
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, today chaired a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, held at the Finance Division.
The… pic.twitter.com/tgziq5ZdTo
— Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) August 14, 2026
“The government has accepted two of our important points,” Baksh said, adding that the association would continue pursuing measures aimed at securing greater benefits for the petroleum industry.
He said the government had also acknowledged the role of petroleum dealers in supporting the state.
On the mechanism for daily petroleum price adjustments, Baksh said the government’s proposed solution would be introduced in three stages and was expected to take about two weeks.
He said the government had accepted the dealers’ demand for a minimum period for determining petroleum prices, while the association had proposed fixing prices for one month. According to Baksh, the government may settle on a seven-day price determination period.
The ECC meeting was attended by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, federal secretaries and senior officials from relevant ministries and divisions.
The ECC approval formally advances the government’s commitment to revise petroleum dealers’ margins and reduces the immediate risk of disruption to fuel supplies that could have resulted from the planned strike.
