Governor KP, Punjab debate issue of availability of flour, Rawalpindi killings

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi has written a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the suspension of the gas supply to the CNG sector in the province and urged for urgent resolution of the situation.

In his letter, the chief minister demanded an end to the suspension of gas supply to the CNG sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that the province is a major producer of natural gas and should not be deprived of its constitutional rights.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa generates over 494 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of petrol but its own use is only around 120 MMCFD, he said.

The letter also said that the CNG industry in the province needed 36 to 40 MMCFD of gas which has purportedly been diverted to the fertiliser sector. The chief minister said the stoppage of gas delivery to CNG outlets would provoke unrest and law and order situation in the province.

He said that a gas-producing province has the first right to use its resources under Article 158 of the Constitution. He said that Peshawar High Court has already declared the closing of CNG stations as unjust.

The chief minister said the closure had put thousands of jobs at stake besides the transport sector significantly depended on CNG. “I think depending on expensive fuel would be an additional burden to the public,” he said.

Sohail Afridi asked the Prime Minister to immediately resume the provision of gas to the CNG industry and demanded that a meeting of the Council of Common Interests be summoned and the issue be placed in its agenda.