Daily Times

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on energy Nadeem Babar may be shown the door. Daily Times sources claim that SAPM Nadeem Babar and secretary for Ministry of Energy (Petroleum division) Mian Asad Hayaud Din are likely to face the music, amidst the current situation of gas crisis in the country.

In a recent interview, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed shared that several members of the federal cabinet are not happy with the SAPM’s performance.

The recent refusal of LNG companies to supply gas is expected to further aggravate the ongoing gas crisis across the country.

Although Petroleum division assured that the development will not further affect the already dwindling gas situation in the country, it has shocked the federal government, as it had already been receiving massive amounts of public complaints about gas suspension in domestic and industrial sector.

Nadeem Babar had previously responded on Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah’s complaint to the federal government over acute gas shortage in Sindh, stating that the Sindh government is using the gas load shedding for political gains.

It must be noted that two weeks ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of gas shortage and called a meeting of the concerned high officials to discuss the matter.

Back in April 2019, Nadeem Babar’s appointment as the Prime Minister’s aide on energy stirred a major controversy as he is a key player of energy sector and held substantial volume of shares in Orient Power, which is an independent power producer and was previously owned by Babar himself.