The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday dismissed a petition filed by compressed natural gas (CNG) owners against the three day gas closure.
Around 47 CNG owners on November 18 filed the petition against the three-day CNG closure, on which the court suspended the load management plan of the Petroleum Ministry. After the court order, most of the CNG stations in the capital remained open for the whole week. On December 13, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) submitted before the court that the way the CNG gas station owners interpreted the Islamabad High Court’s November 18 stay order on the management of gas supply had led to the low gas pressure for domestic consumers in the city.
On Friday, Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan resumed the hearing of the case between the CNG owners and the SNGPL authorities. The counsel for the CNG owners, Makhdoom Ali Khan, contended that in talks with the petroleum secretary on Wednesday his clients offered closure of their stations for two days. He added that 2 million vehicles were running on CNG and around 3,000 CNG stations existed in the country.
Counsel for the Petroleum Ministry said the CNG owners misinterpreted the court’s previous order and their refusal to act upon the load management plan resulted in severe gas shortage for domestic consumers. After hearing the arguments, Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan dismissed the case of the CNG owners.
