Petrol pumps told to 'deny' fuel to march participants.

LAHORE -- Though there is almost no hurdle apparently, authorities in various districts are allegedly pressing the petroleum dealers to either keep their pumps dry or at least avoid giving petrol or diesel to the participants riding in cars, vans, trucks etc., in the ongoing JUI-F's Azadi March.

'I received a call from association president from Attock on Tuesday. He told me that a senior police official asked him to keep pumps dry. I replied to him to ask the officer to request him in writing rather than issuing verbal orders,' Lahore Petroleum Dealers Association President Khwaja Atif told Dawn.

Including more than 375 in Lahore, there are around 4,300 petrol pumps in Punjab, fulfilling fuel need of a huge number of motorists. After Karachi, Lahore tops in having over 375 filling stations meeting demand of about two million litres of petrol alone on a daily basis.

'We are also being asked [furtively] to control our stocks. But we have so far decided not to shut our pumps, as how can we refuse if someone comes to us and asks for fuel. And who will secure our business if the people, including the participants in Azadi March, start ransacking our...