ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) have announced it would close petrol pumps across the country on July 5 to protest the government’s decision to impose an advance tax on turnover, saying the move would “devastate” their businesses already reeling from high taxes and inflation. 

Petroleum dealers in Pakistan are demanding the government withdraw an advance income tax of 0.5 percent imposed in the recently passed federal budget 2024-25.

Pakistan’s tax-heavy $67.76 billion budget for the new fiscal year came into effect on Monday amid an annual inflation projection of up to 13.5 percent for June. The ambitious budget with a challenging tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion ($46.66 billion) has drawn the ire of the government’s allies and opposition alike. The revenue collection target for the new fiscal year is almost 40 percent higher than the last fiscal year. 

The PPDA says its members are earning minimal profit due to staggering inflation and high taxes. Talks between the government and the association this week failed to break the deadlock between the two sides. 

“We are going on a nationwide strike starting July 5 and plan to close petrol pumps across the country,” PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan told Arab News on Wednesday. 

“Our demand is simple: the government should immediately withdraw the advance tax decision.”

Khan said the move would “devastate” the petrol pump business in the country, adding that dealers would be left with no other option but to wind up their businesses for good if the government does not reverse its decision.

“We are ready to discuss our concerns and possible solutions with the government,” Khan said. “We request the prime minister, petroleum minister and finance minister to immediately abolish this tax, otherwise we will be unable to continue running our businesses.”

Imran Ahmed, the deputy general of oil at Pakistan’s petroleum ministry, rejected the strike call. He said the government would not entertain “blackmailing tactics” but was willing to discuss petroleum dealers’ genuine concerns. 

“We will not support the strike or such tactics,” he told Arab News. “This new advance tax applies to all traders, not only petroleum dealers.”

Ahmed said the government is in talks with the dealers and their representatives, whom he said have also met officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistan’s tax authority. 

He said the ministry has instructed oil marketing companies to keep as many sites open as possible to ensure a smooth supply of petroleum products in the country. 

“We have also instructed PSO [Pakistan State Oil] to ensure maximum supply and storage of petroleum products by keeping their sites open,” Ahmed said. 
 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tallest man Zia Rasheed died at the age of 30 on July 2, local media widely reported, coincidentally the 26th death anniversary of Alam Channa, another Pakistani who was once the tallest living person on earth.

Rasheed is believed to have reached the height of 8 feet by the time he was 18, but his stature brought with it a host of illnesses associated with being too tall. The current tallest man in the world, Sultan Kosen from Türkiye, stands at a height of 8 feet 3 inches, around three inches taller than Rasheed. 

Height is a risk factor for multiple health conditions such as cellulitis, skin abscesses, chronic leg ulcers, and osteomyelitis. Height is also believed to be related to the incidence of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

“Zia Rasheed, the tallest person in Pakistan, died after protracted ailments on Tuesday,” Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper report said, adding that the youngest of five brothers had been unwell for a long time and was laid to rest in his native village near Vehari district in Pakistan’s central-eastern Punjab province.

“He suffered from a leg-related illness that caused him considerable discomfort and pain for much of his life,” the Samaa news website said. 

“Unfortunately, Zia never received the proper medical treatment he needed. Despite his condition, he remained in Pakistan, unable to secure the resources necessary to seek better medical facilities abroad.”

“Rasheed had a normal childhood until he experienced a significant growth spurt at the age of 12, which was later attributed to a malfunctioning pituitary gland,” Samaa added. “This glandular issue caused an overproduction of growth hormone, leading to his extraordinary height.”

Ironically, Rasheed died the same day as Alam Channa, a Pakistani who held a Guinness Book of World Record as the tallest living man in the world between 1982 and 1998, measuring 7.7 feet. A local celebrity and common fixture at moving circuses for most of his life, he suffered from kidney failure and high blood pressure and was sent by the government for treatment to the US. 

He was admitted to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York but died on July 2, 1988. He is buried in Sehwan, a town in Sindh known for the famous shrine of Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, where Channa’s family members as helpers had worked for decades. He himself worked for the shrine in his youth before joining the circus.