KARACHI - The PPP-led Sindh government has accused the PTI-led federal government of unfairness on the issue of CNG price hike with the provincial government of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah demanding withdrawal of the notification regarding the increase in the CNG price.
Addressing a news conference in Karachi on Tuesday, Sindh Transport Minister Syed Awais Qadir Shah demanded the federal government to offer subsidies on the CNG price. “The CNG in Punjab is available at a low price but in Sindh, the same CNG is available at an inflated price. Is this Riyasat-e-Madinah?” he asked.
Awais alleged that the Centre first suspended the supply of gas in Sindh then increased the price by Rs17 per kg.
Awais expressed his fears that unemployment would hit this sector too just like other sectors due to the ineligibility of the federal government to deal with it properly.
“The import of LNG on price increase was just to facilitate the mafia and their commissions. Why all the economists of the government are quiet now because they can’t see with this price hike which would give further rise to inflation,” he commented.
The minister alleged that the Centre just made new records of the injustices with the Sindh province.
On the other hand, Senior Vice Chairman of All Pakistan CNG Association Sohaib Khan said that the consumers would have to bear the burden of the tax hike on the gas sector by the government as CNG has gone up by Rs17 per kg.
Addressing a news conference in Karachi, Sohaib Khan said that this increase could lead to shutting down of their businesses.
Sohaib Khan said that the government has increased 26 percent import duty on LNG contrary to the claims that the CNG sector would be load-shedding free.
Senior Vice Chairman Sohaib Khan said that people were not buying CNG at the rate of Rs140 per kg then how could they buy it at Rs153. “The rate on which LNG ship reached at Pakistan has actually inflated the price of the CNG,” he commented.
A day ago, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that the government has completely eliminated forced power outages last Friday evening and from Monday the government has restored normal gas and pressure supply to all sectors. Hammad Azhar said that RLNG supply has also been restored 100 percent.
