ISLAMABAD: Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that all the decisions would be taken in the interest of the country and there would be no compromise on national interest.

“Pervaiz Khattak is our elder and he spoke about gas connection to his constituency, and in the parliamentary party committee meeting... everyone could speak openly,” he said.

Addressing a news conference here on Saturday, he said that in the party parliamentarians’ meeting ahead of the National Assembly session, Pervaiz Khattak talked about non-availability of gas connection in his constituency.

Subsequently, the prime minister asked him to respond. He said that he explained to him that there was a moratorium on new gas connections due to rising demand in winter and they would consider when the moratorium on gas connections would be lifted.

He said that the law that allows the government for pricing in imported gas for domestic supplies has been passed by the National Assembly. It will now be sent to the Senate.

Responding to a question, he said gas pricing was the federal government subject and the bill was deliberated in the National Assembly since October 2021.

The minister for energy said that the government is focusing on improving the electricity transmission system. He said 70 to 80 percent electricity will be produced from indigenous resources by 2030. He said we have started work on the construction of 10 dams.

He said the present government has introduced historic reforms in various sectors including energy to take the country forward.

He maintained that this process of reforms will continue in the months and years ahead in order to ensure sustainable development.

He said we target to collect 6,000 billion rupees in taxes during the current fiscal year, while our exports and remittances each will touch 30 billion dollars.

He pointed out that our gas reserves are depleting and we have to look for various options to meet the domestic requirements.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022