KARACHI:
Gas is a fundamental necessity, not a luxury. Yet today, citizens from Karachi to Peshawar, Lahore to Quetta, and Islamabad to Rawalpindi are grappling with severe, unannounced gas load-shedding. In most urban centers, gas supply has dwindled to just a few hours a day.
This crisis has severely disrupted domestic life. Mothers are forced to wake up at dawn to prepare breakfast for school-going children, only to find empty pipelines. The same struggle repeats in the evening. Left with no choice, families are driven to buy expensive LPG cylinders or firewood, while many others resort to electric heaters — a desperate measure that has doubled their electricity bills. For a population already crushed by back-breaking inflation, this has become an unbearable financial burden.
The commercial sector is equally crippled. Small tandoors, tea stalls, local cafes and gas-dependent industries are either shutting down or scaling back operations, directly fueling the country’s rising unemployment.
Paradoxically, while the government promises public relief, gas bills continue to skyrocket despite gas pressure remaining near zero. Citizens are essentially being forced to pay exorbitant bills for a resource they do not even receive.
The Prime Minister, the Ministry of Energy, SNGPL and SSGC must take immediate and decisive action. At the very least, a predictable gas supply schedule must be implemented — particularly during the peak hours of 6am to 9am and 5pm to 9pm. For a permanent solution, the state must urgently invest in exploring new domestic gas reserves. Access to utilities is a fundamental right of every citizen, especially when they are paying for them.
Alishba Malik
Rawalpindi
