Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Power Tabish Gauhar has said that the current gas crisis is “temporary in nature” and that there would be “major improvement 2-3 days”.
In a meeting with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the PM’s aide said that a “major shipment of LNG has arrived and will be transmitted and distributed through SSGCL [Sui Southern Gas Company] system within few days”.
Gauhar said that the repair and maintenance works of the gas fields were mandatory and unavoidable, adding that the government was “aware of the enormous challenges being faced by the industry”.
Gauhar agreed to the recommendation of FPCCI President Nasser Hyatt Maggo that there should be a representative of the FPCCI in the SSGCL so that the “concerns and issues of industrialists are better understood at SSGCL”.
During the meeting, the FPCCI chief demanded immediate resumption of gas supply to Karachi’s industry on behalf of the entire business, industrial, and trade community, according to the statement by the FPCCI.
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“The industry has suffered unbearable losses due to the closure of gas supply to all industrial areas of Karachi,” he said, adding that the government must realise that the exports of the country will also be badly hit as a result.
It is pertinent to note that KCCI and all town associations of Karachi were represented by their top leadership in the meeting with Tabish Gauhar at FPCCI Head Office – and, they have put forward a unanimous charter of demands pertaining to the gas crisis in the country.
