After the failure of negotiations with the government to end the gas load shedding and maintain a difference of at least 40 percent between the domestic petrol and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) prices, the All Pakistan CNG Association announced on Friday a countrywide protest campaign from July 13.
APCNGA Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha told reporters after a meeting of the association that protest rallies would be held in all major cities of the country starting from southern Punjab. If the government did not accept their demands, they would hold sit-ins in front of parliament and would go on strike indefinitely, he said.
Terming the gas load shedding unjustified as the CNG sector consumed only 7 percent of the domestic gas supply, he said the government was strangling the CNG sector to force the people to use expensive fuels such as petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas. The Petroleum Ministry had recommended a 69 percent increase in the CNG tariff to bring prices up to 65 percent of the price of petrol.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry said the announcement of strike by APCNGA was uncalled for after “successful negotiations”. It said Paracha had acceded that the association would hold a meeting with the SNGPL authorities to know the details of the current natural gas demand and supply situation and only then decide upon the continuation of indefinite strike.
