Gas shortages: Sindh, Balochistan senators protest in Senate

ISLAMABAD: The government-opposition bonhomie fizzled out Friday in the Senate when both sides traded allegations over shortage of gas across Pakistan, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan.

In a rare move to register their protest, Senators, belonging to the treasury and opposition from Balochistan staged a sit-in for a few minutes in front of the dais of Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, led by Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini of Balochistan National Party. Senators chanted slogans and regretted that despite providing gas to Pakistan for decades, women even in Sui area still use wood for cooking food. The chair reprimanded the senators for marring the proceedings and urged them to go back to their seats, as the minister would give assurances to them.

PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan and A Rehman Malik of PPP said they fully supported the agitating senators, but their mode of protest was not proper. “This is no way of protest, as if councillors’ meeting is going on. If it continued, the Senate will become a tamasha one day,” cautioned Mushahidullah.

Afterwards, they and some other senators from the treasury and opposition benches, convinced the senators to return to their seats.

Speaking on a calling attention notice, moved by PPP Senator Sassui Palijo, PPP parliamentary leader in the House Sherry Rehman regretted, “Today, Sindh and Balochistan are standing before you and it is a dangerous situation. There is a crisis-like situation. While Sindh produces 70 percent of gas and is facing acute gas shortage and this defies the Constitution”.

The senator explained that Article 158 clearly gives Sindh the first right over the gas it produces. “I am certainly not suggesting that Sindh should not supply gas to the rest of the country but that it should get as much as it requires and the surplus should be provided to other parts of Pakistan. Is it fair that Sindh, which produces around 2500 mmcfd gas per day is hardly receiving 800 to 900 mmcfd as its people suffer?, she noted.

She continued that the supply-demand gap for gas in the country had widened to 12 percent and was worsening while from Quetta to Karachi, several cities were going through severe winters without it. Despite raising gas prices by over 200 percent, people were not getting it. She claimed that the government was yet to release the minutes of the CCI meeting held on December 23, after a gap of a year.

Senator Rehman emphasized, “We want these issues to be solved amicably. Unfortunately, the federal government calls meetings once pushed to the wall but then there are no follow-ups. Their attitude can lead to a constitutional crisis between Sindh and the Centre. It is staggering that despite Sindh’s massive contribution to gas in the country it has no representation in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and other government owned energy organisations”.

“Additionally, the Centre is basing its entire argument on Sindh not providing the right of way for laying gas pipelines but it has neither given any pricing formula nor any discussion to solve the issue equitably. The government is asking Sindh to purchase expensive imported gas under the weighted average cost formula but why should Sindh buy expensive gas when it produces its own. Its local gas price is Rs820 per unit while the price of LNG is much higher at around Rs1,700 per unit - mathematically, it makes no sense. The matter should be sent to the Committee,” she demanded.

She lamented that the burden of circular debt was also being shifted to the masses and yet no gas availability while captive power plants were being supplied gas smoothly. “The way you are shaking the federation, none has done so before. The matter be referred to the committee,” she urged the chair.

Senator Sassui Palijo said they had repeatedly raised the issue at various forums, but to no avail, as sheer injustice was being meted out to Sindh and when Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah explained to prime minister previously, he said he would not let violation of the Constitution on this count but her province was being deprived of its constitutional rights.

She also pointed out that Ogra had no representation from the provinces. “I won’t stay to climb on mountains to protest but the scene here is strange that the treasury senators are also agitating on gas crisis. We just be given our gas as per our right,” she said.

Minister for Energy Omar Ayub said that facts were bitter but he would place them before the House and added that the gas demand stood at 6.5BCF while production was 3.5BCF and he blamed this on two previous governments of PPP and PML-N for not going for exploration and drilling and announcing no policy thereon.

He wondered how this government could be blamed for the wrongs of the past regimes amid shouts by Senator Sassui and some other senators. He added that they had repeatedly told Sindh about gas shortfall and asked for right of way for the pipeline, which was not given and the province showed negligence and inaptitude on this.

Because of the right of way not given for the pipeline, he pointed out, the government could not supply 100-150MMCF gas to Punjab. He disputed PPP senators claim of having right on the gas resources in Sindh and said it belonged to entire Pakistan. He also questioned why the energy mix was not reviewed accordingly in the past.

The chair referred the matter to the House standing committee for deliberations and report. The House passed the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Bill, 2019, which was moved by Minister for Housing and Works Ch Tariq Bashir Cheema, whereas the bill to enact a law for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters: The Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2020 was referred to the House committee concerned. It has already been passed by the National Assembly.

Speaking on a point of public importance, Senator Mir Kabir Shahi of the National Party said he felt frightened when Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Thursday that Pakistan would not at all become part of any war in future. “I felt frightened, as he said so on 27-28 occasions, and then did exactly opposite to it. He may repeat that practice,” he remarked.

He also lamented Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke in the Senate for 40 minutes but said nothing new and repeated what they had read and seen already in the media.