OGRA responsible for petrol shortage, PM told
PM Nawaz chaired a meeting to review petrol supply situation in major cities.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired a meeting in Islamabad to review petrol supply situation in the country.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to take necessary steps to avoid recurrence of similar situation in the future.
The two-member committee tasked to inquire this matter presented their initial findings to the Premier and informed him that petrol shortage was a serious failure on the part of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) as a regulator.
The meeting endorsed the earlier decision of suspending four senior officials responsible for the crisis and decided that DMD PSO, Sohail Butt was also equally responsible and ordered his suspension as well.
The crisis started this month when the cash-starved state fuel importer slashed petrol imports by half and skipped overseas fuel oil purchases altogether, worsening power cuts and leading to petrol shortages around the country.
The state importer says it buys up to 90 percent of fuel oil and petrol abroad, but this month it was forced to cut purchases because it had not been paid by its customers on time.
Already frustrated by crippling electricity and gas shortages, Pakistanis have accused the government of not acting fast enough to preempt a decrease in domestic fuel supplies at a time of falling global oil prices.
