Syed Ali Shah, Ali Hamza, News Desk:Â
QUETTA — A severe petrol crisis has gripped Quetta and several other parts of Balochistan, leaving public life entirely paralyzed as fuel pumps dry up across the province. Desperate citizens, emergency patients, and students have become the worst sufferers of the acute fuel shortage, with hundreds of vehicles lined up in agonizingly long queues for hours outside the few operational stations.
​The crisis has escalated to a point where desperate commuters are willing to pay exorbitant rates just to secure a few liters of fuel. Taking advantage of the breakdown in the supply chain, profiteers are openly selling petrol on the black market for over Rs. 400 per liter in various neighborhoods.
​Citizens Stranded for Hours
​The severe shortage has dealt a crushing blow to daily wage earners and transporters. Najibullah, a local rickshaw driver stuck in a massive queue, lamented his ordeal. “I have been waiting here for five hours just to get enough petrol to run my rickshaw. My entire day’s earnings are gone, and my family will suffer because of this mismanagement,” he told Quetta Voice.
​Similarly, Mohammad Aslam, a private car owner, shared his frustration after waiting for hours to top up his tank. “The government needs to step in immediately. People are ready to buy fuel even at official expensive rates, but it is simply nowhere to be found. Patients cannot reach hospitals, and students are missing their exams,” Aslam added.
​The Iranian Fuel Dilemma
​Local petrol pump operators state that the supply from main oil marketing companies has completely dried up. An anonymous petroleum dealer explained that the local market’s dependency on certain supply routes has heavily impacted formal retail stations.
​”The strict crackdowns on Iranian smuggled petrol, without a corresponding increase in the legal national quota for Balochistan, always triggers a domestic crisis,” the dealer noted. “If authorities want to permanently stop illegal Iranian fuel smuggling, they must first ensure that the national supply chain to Balochistan is robust and capable of meeting the public demand. Right now, the legal supply is insufficient.”
​Official Response
​In response to the growing public anger, the Quetta administration announced that dedicated official teams have been established to monitor the situation, check artificial hoarding, and address the distribution bottlenecks.
​Despite these official claims, the ground reality remains grim. The crippling fuel crisis shows no signs of immediate relief, leaving the residents of Quetta and surrounding districts at the mercy of black-market sellers.
