The gas crisis has been handled so badly that news reports suggest that unhappiness with the prime minister’ special assistant on energy, Nadeem Babar, has reached the federal cabinet itself. At the heart of the problem is the government’s own incompetence since for some reason it did not purchase Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) during the summer, when the price was low, and did not wake up to the need for it till market volatility pushed up prices very sharply. Now it has only itself to blame since Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) went back on its commitment and it must now make a rush for new, definitely more expensive, contracts. So, on top of the millions already lost because of the delay, the country must now pay yet more exorbitant fees for no reason at all.
This is not just a case of a couple of deals gone wrong, rather such things not only amount to a lot of suffering for households who are suddenly struggling with no gas, but also drive up production cost for industry and end up harming revenue collection in no small manner. Already the demand-supply situation has forced the petroleum division to recommend discontinuation of natural gas from February 1 to all industrial units using it primarily for power-generation and self-consumption. Therefore the prime minister must initiate an urgent inquiry into the matter; on which will also investigate if Nadeem Babar’s present duties amount to a conflict of interest considering his personal stakes in the private energy business.
Now the long-term LNG deals signed by the previous government, which PTI criticised to no end at the time and later, are the only thing ensuring what little gas that is still flowing in the country. These developments do not speak very highly of the government since it had been warned in advance of a hard winter yet not only did it not prepare for it, it also made the existing situation much worse. These are very genuine concerns and the government must address them. If a part of the official machinery, or some of its advisors, is responsible for causing harm to the treasury as well as industry, then it must be fixed immediately. Anything less would be unbecoming of a party that came to power on promises of fair play and transparency. *
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