Islamabad: Minister of State for Petroleum Mossadegh Malik on Monday blamed former Planning Minister Asad Umar for the country’s gas crisis, saying Asad Umar had recommended against importing the commodity and stressed that this winter There will be no shortage of gas.
He expressed these views while addressing the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, whose meeting was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Abdul Qadir.
It was further informed that state-owned petroleum companies will sell LPG at the official rates at the Union Council level.
As proceedings began, the panel witnessed an exchange of harsh words between Malik and PTI Senator Saifullah Abru.
During the session, Abru questioned Pakistan LNG’s Masood Nabi as to why the current government did not buy LNG when it was available at a lower price during the PTI regime.
Malik intervened and asked Abru to take up the question with him. The PTI senator said he wanted to get details from the official concerned.
When Malik said that he was answering his question, Abaro asked why Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir was not attending the committee meeting despite having a bigger portfolio than the Minister of State.
Abro said that a minister of state was not allowed to join the meeting of the standing committee, on which Malik expressed his anger and asked that if I was not allowed to attend the meeting, why was I called?
Malik said he should not be “insulted” and would leave the meeting.
The chairman of the committee intervened and asked how the meeting would take place if the two officials would talk like this. He asked Malik to answer the question, saying he was the relevant person to comment on the issue.
Taking a jibe at the officials present at the meeting, Abru said that “bureaucrats use political people”.
Expressing his displeasure, Malik asked the PTI senator not to “let anyone down”.
The chairman of the committee said that the energy related institutions should sit together and make a policy, gas demand should be estimated six months in advance.
Malik said that the Ministry of Petroleum issues tenders for importing gas as per the demand.
He said that the previous government had stopped K Electric’s 1,000 MW coal-fired power generation project on the assumption that the country already had enough power, adding that the Cabinet Committee on Energy headed by Umar had decided.
He said an agreement had been reached against the development, promising to supply additional gas to K-E. He said that the problem is the price of gas and not its import.
The chairman of the committee noted that there were two or three suppliers from whom the gas was purchased and suggested that the Ministry of Pipera should relax the rules and buy the commodity from other companies as well.
The Minister of State said that the government is negotiating with various countries for the purchase of gas and oil and it is hoped that these matters will be settled soon.
Officials of the Ministry of Petroleum told the meeting that the previous government had opposed the import of gas.
PTI’s Senator Abaro said that governments blame each other, adding that it was the bureaucracy that made policies and created a “positive image” of the government.
In response to Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, the Minister of State admitted that the government is buying gas at $17 per unit and supplying it to industrialists at $9 per unit.
