Daily life came to a standstill in Pakistan due to the fuel shortage, prompting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to suspend four top officials for failing to deal with the crisis that has led to black marketing and summoning a special Cabinet meeting on Monday to find a solution. The crisis largely occurred as the State-run Pakistan State Oil, country’s largest oil marketing firm, ran out of cash to import petroleum products.
Frustrated citizens in lahore, Punjab province, Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spent the holiday queueing up at the handful of petrol pumps, with some saying they had been there overnight. Sharif, who spends Sundays with his family at Raiwind residence in lahore, left for Islamabad this afternoon and called his ‘kitchen Cabinet’ members and all related to petroleum ministry for a meeting on Monday.
“The Prime Minister has taken serious notice of the fuel shortage. The premier is expected to take important decisions in Monday’s meeting. He is also expected to focus on trying to bridge the supply-demand gap,” says a statement by Prime Minister’s office. The Prime Minister said the public should not suffer and that every measure would be taken to provide relief on an immediate basis.
A fuming Sharif, on his return from Saudi Arabia yesterday after a two-day visit, sacked four officials including Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed, his deputy Naeem Malik, Oil Director General CM Azam and Pakistan State Oil chief Amjad Janjua.