Because of banks refusal to approve and confirm letters of credit (LCs) for the import of petroleum products the fears of worsened situation have grown.
Secretary of Finance and State Bank of Pakistan have been urged to consider the dire scenario by the Oil Advisory Council, Dunya News reported.
In a letter, the Oil Advisory Council stated that it would like to draw attention to the fact that there would be a significant scarcity of petroleum products in the country if banks do not issue LCs for oil imports. It also stated that if the LCs are not issued on schedule the situation might worsen as it might take another six to eight weeks to control the situation.
The Oil Advisory Council also stated in its letter that several import shipments have been delayed and numerous cases needed to be completed as a result of the banks failure to promptly open LCs.
HASKOL Petroleum Limited has also addressed a letter to the State Bank of Pakistan Governor in this respect explaining that the firm was having trouble issuing letters of credit in banks for oil imports and that if the issue was not fixed quickly the country s oil supply would fall, which will exacerbate the issues.
