Gas dispute between centre, K-P lands in Supreme Court

Federal govt has approached top court against PHC's judgement for providing due share of natural gas to K-P

ISLAMABAD: A long-standing dispute between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the federal government over the distribution of natural gas among the four provinces has ultimately reached the Supreme Court.

The federal government had approached the apex court against a recent judgment of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) which directed the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to give due share of natural gas to K-P as per Article 158 of the Constitution.

“The issue will come under discussion at the SC by the mid of this month when the court will take up a petition by the federal government,” Sumail Ahmed Butt, a senior lawyer, told The Express Tribune on Saturday.



The PHC order followed petitions, jointly filed by All Pakistan CNG Association, K-P Zone and 37 CNG station owners who have challenged gas loadshedding by the Centre. The petitioners had sought a directive by the PHC to the federal government for compliance with Article 158.

“Compliance with Article 158 means that there will be no loadshedding of natural gas in K-P as the province produces more natural gas than what it consumes,” Butt, who contested the petition, said.

“All three provinces [Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan] are grieving against the federal government’s formula of distribution of gas out of the total production as they considered the formula in violation of the Constitution,” the lawyer added.

Article 158 makes it clear that the province in which a wellhead of natural gas is situated will have precedence over other parts of the country to meet its need.

The government of K-P being one of three aggrieved parties had on several occasions demanded the Centre for the implementation of Article 158 in letter and spirit. It is supported by two other smaller provinces, Balochistan and Sindh, in its struggle, for its due share out of the total gas production.



The three provinces, K-P, Sindh and Balochistan, which produce over 95 per cent of the total gas production, are demanding their due share as per their production for their consumers.

According to the Pakistan Energy yearbook 2013, Sindh contributes 68.65 per cent, Baluchistan 18.37 per cent, K-P 8.38 per cent and Punjab 4.6 per cent to the country’s total gas production.

Thus consumption versus production ratio of the gas is: Sindh 55, Baluchistan 30, K-P 51 and Punjab 783. Sindh and K-P use about 50 per cent of the gas they produce, Balochistan less than one-third while Punjab uses about 800 per cent gas more than what it produces.