Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani directed the Ministry of Petroleum and its concerned departments to put their house in order as the attitude of ‘business as usual‘ is unacceptable. The PM while chairing a meeting at PM House on Friday asked the ministry to work on war footings to ensure that people get to face minimum inconvenience due to gas shortage in the forthcoming months of November, December and January. The Minister for Petroleum, Dr Asim Hussain, Secretary Finance, Cabinet Secretary, Secretary Petroleum, Acting Chairman FBR and other senior officials of the relevant ministries were present in the meeting. The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Petroleum to accelerate the process of increasing the supply of gas in the country. All irritants in the way must be removed as of today, the Prime Minister directed. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources briefed the meeting about various gas development projects like Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, Turkmenistan- Afghanistan- Pakistan-India gas pipeline and import of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) to overcome the shortage of gas in the country. The Prime Minister directed to expedite work on these projects. He said all the concerned authorities should meet in quick succession, if need be, to evolve an operational strategy aimed at speeding up the work to overcome the energy deficiency in the country in the earliest possible time. The Prime Minister also underscored the need of launching an awareness campaign to sensitise people to the imperative of energy conservation, particularly gas conservation measures in the upcoming winter to ensure maximum benefit and comfort to the people.
‘Put your house in order’ PM Gilani, tells petroleum ministry
