Balochistan shuts down illegal Iranian fuel pumps

KARACHI: The caretaker government in Pakistan‘s Balochistan province has shut down around 500 petrol pumps illegally supplying cheap Iranian fuel to the people, adversely impacting local refineries amid the weakening economy and high inflation in the cash-strapped nation. Iranian fuel is considerably cheaper compared to the fuel products supplied by Pakistani refineries.
Balochistan’s caretaker information minister Jan Achakzai said that these pumps were selling smuggled Iranian petrol and diesel to the people. “A nationwide crackdown is being carried out on the supply of Iranian fuel products in the country,” he said.
The crackdown comes as Pakistan’s caretaker government announced yet another hike in the prices of petrol and diesel, taking them to a historic high – over Rs 330 per litre – amidst double-digit inflation in the cash-strapped country. The hike in prices was dictated to by the IMF which bailed out Pakistan’s weak economy this year with a support package of $3 billion.
Iranian fuel, however, is sold illegally in the country at approximately 220-230 rupees per litre. Smugglers move the Iranian fuel in containers via the land border crossings in Balochistan with Iran and the fuel then travels to other big cities like Karachi.
Original News : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/balochistan-shuts-down-illegal-iranian-fuel-pumps/articleshow/103741855.cms