PHC reissues notices in gas loadshedding case

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday issued fresh notices to the chief secretary, secretaries Petroleum and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), managing director and general manager of Sui Southern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to submit replies in a petition filed against gas loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Sabitullah, heard the case. The petition was filed by Malik Manzoor, represented by advocates Malik Salman and Mufti Noorul Basr.

The lawyers argued that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was producing more gas than it consumption, and as per the Constitution, the province had the first right over its own resources.However, they pleaded that despite producing surplus gas, the residents of the province were facing severe gas loadshedding, which they called a clear injustice.

They contended that court rulings had affirmed that local resources should benefit the local population first, yet the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were subjected to excessive gas shortages.

The supply of gas, they said, was being cut off at critical times in the morning, afternoon, and evening, causing immense difficulties for households and industries.They accused the federal government of being too busy in political rivalry to address public hardships, saying that the ongoing gas shortages were damaging both daily life and industrial activities in the province.After arguments, the court reissued notices to the relevant authorities, demanding their responses in the next hearing.