Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz has ordered one million gas connections in Punjab months before the upcoming polls
FAISALABAD: Prior to the last general elections in 2013, the Pakistan Peoples Party allowed allotment of gas connections in constituencies in a blatant attempt to buy votes of the masses. Such a practice is an old tactic of political parties to entice voters. Following this route, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has ordered one million gas connections in Punjab just months before the upcoming polls that are to be held later this year. The gas supply situation in the country has gotten worse over the past few years even in the southern parts of the country. With limited supply even in the urban settlements, people mainly rely on gas cylinders for their basic domestic needs.
Alongside the limited gas supply, these gas connections, issued in urgency, are mostly issued without the completion of basic formalities and the paper work involved. With that the next government which takes up the charge, is left to clean up the chaos created by the policies taken by the previous government. With ever reduced natural gas supply, it is the need of the time that a moratorium is placed on connections granted primarily as part of election campaigning of the political parties.
Aftab Hashim
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2018.
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