Council of Common Interests: Body to discuss Punjab’s gas shortage

Reduction of overheads also likely to figure on its agenda.

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interests (CCI) is likely to meet next week to discuss Punjab’s complaints of gas shortages.

Some media reports said that the meeting was scheduled to be held on February 1.

However, officials of the Prime Minister’s secretariat said that no date “has yet been finalised”.

According to officials, two main issues will be on the agenda: coordination between the federal government and provinces on efforts to reduce overhead expenditure and Punjab’s reservations over the gas distribution formula.

Household consumers and fuel stations across the country’s most populous province have been facing lengthy gas outages.

Under the 18th Amendment, the gas producing province has precedence over its consumption, a decision that has irked Punjab the most.

The power outages in Punjab are, by extension, lengthier by comparison with outages in other provinces, all of which are gas producers.

Gilani promised to discuss the matter in the CCI when Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif raised the issue with him recently.

Officials said that the council might also discuss whether the education ministry should be devolved to provinces or not.

The prime minister himself had suggested the move after some political parties objected over the decision to devolve the education ministry to provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th,  2011.