Senate panel irked by petrol price reduction ratio

Minister of State says Pak-Iran pipeline delayed, not dead

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday came under fire in a Senate panel for not reducing prices of petroleum products by the same ratio as prices have plummeted in the international market and the fast widening gas supply and demand gap.

During a meeting of the Senate standing committee on petroleum and national resources at the Parliament house on Tuesday, Jam Kamal Khan was grilled on various aspects of the ministry.

Khan, who is the minister of state for petroleum, explained to the committee that the government was reviewing prices of petroleum products in view of a drop in prices in the international market.

On the stalled Pakistan-Iran pipeline, the minister of state said the project had been delayed due to international sanctions on Iran. He insisted that the project is not dead, nor does the government have any intention of abandoning it.

Khan said that that the government was working on LNG gas projects to overcome gas shortage and facilitate the citizens.

Further, the ministry's additional secretary Arshad Mirza told the committee that huge reserves of oil and gas have been discovered in Gambat block in Sindh and in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash and Senator Hamza raised concerns over the expenditures occurred during the running of mobile dispensaries in rural Sindh and the conditions of roads.

The committee was informed that the drilling companies give share for reconstruction of damaged roads according to their use. Senator Yousaf said that the drilling companies make tall claims but in reality they do nothing for the uplift of local population.

The committee advised the ministry to act upon its recommendations given after a visit of Sindh and requested to incorporate local population in mainstream jobs.

The meeting was also attended by Senator Dr Jahangir Bader, Senator Tanveer-ul-Haq Thanvi, Senator Talha Mehmood, and Senator Mukhtar Ahmed Dhamra.