ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister directed the provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products.

A high-level meeting on petroleum products was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in which the Ministry of Petroleum gave a detailed briefing on the stockpiling of petroleum products in the context of the changing situation in the region.

It was informed in the briefing that there is adequate stock of petroleum products in the country to meet the country’s needs. The Prime Minister directed the provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products.

The Prime Minister said that any petrol pump involved in this heinous business of artificial shortage should be closed immediately and its license should be cancelled and legal action should be taken.

The Prime Minister directed the Petroleum Minister to visit the provinces and prepare a plan and action plan with the provincial governments regarding the saving of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply to the people.

The Prime Minister directed that a dashboard be created regarding the movement of petroleum products, through which real-time data can be shared with the provinces and the transportation of petroleum products can be monitored.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervez Malik, Owais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jamil Ahmed, Chief Secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and senior government officials.