ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday accused the government of causing Rs15 billion losses to the national exchequer by purchasing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at 70 percent higher prices due to 'incompetence,' and also feared a huge gas shortage next month.

Speaking at a news conference here, Abbasi said the current demand of the country was more than 12 ships which come to 1,200 million cubic feet per day.

"It means the government needs to arrange 12 cargo ships of LNG every month," he said, adding that the government went for a tender in Dec and purchased six ships.

In January, he added that the government again went for a tender of six cargo ships and only three responded, and the remaining three have yet to be purchased.

He maintained that nine LNG cargoes were purchased at 70 percent higher prices, which caused Rs15 billion loss to the country. He also feared a huge shortage of gas next month, in case the remaining three cargoes of LNG did not come in time.

Abbasi said despite passage of two and a half years in power and engaging four ministers in the Ministry of Energy, the country had to face losses of hundreds of billions of rupees due to their lack of knowledge. He said the LNG terminal installed by the PML-N government had the capacity of 12 cargoes of LNG per month.

Abbasi said the PML-N government had made contracts for importing eight cargo ships under three contracts - five ships a month from Qatar Gas, two ships from Gunvor, and one ship every month from ENI. Additionally, he added four more ships per month could be purchased through spot tenders of contracts.

He also defended his party's LNG contract with Qatar, saying a country which gave a 'cheapest' LNG contract to Pakistan was criticised by the ministers.

"And today, they [the government] are importing the LNG at much higher prices from the same country [Qatar]," he maintained.

He also urged the Ministry of Petroleum to give the details of the payment for the whole year to LNG terminal installed by the PML-N government, and also the details and savings of a power plant owned by federal ministers, which was being run from the LNG.

Responding to a question about the reshuffle in the federal cabinet, he maintained that a minister who failed to put the railways on track was entrusted with the Ministry of Interior.

"What is their criterion? When a student failed in a class is he promoted or demoted?" he asked, while referring to giving the portfolio of Minister for Interior to Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. He said that after exercising all the options against the government, the PDM would use the option of resignations from the assemblies.

Meanwhile, the PML-N has also called a joint meeting of the party's central executive committee (CEC) and central working committee (CWC) on December 14 in Lahore.

According to party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangezeb, the joint meeting has been called to endorse the PDM's December 8th meeting decisions, which also included resignations from the assemblies. She said that the meeting would also discuss the strategy for implementation on the decisions taken by the PDM leadership in their December 8 meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020