The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) convened a hearing here today to review its LPG pricing formula under the directions of the Lahore High Court. The hearing degenerated into threats of death and physical harm against representatives of LPG marketing companies. “We are deeply disappointed by today’s proceedings,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP), a collection of OGRA-licensed LPG marketing companies, and one of the petitioners against OGRA. “One self-proclaimed ‘chairman’ of LPG distributors—who are not independently recognized by OGRA in any case—stood up and issued threats of physical harm and death against the gathered representatives of LPG marketing companies,” said Jabbar. “All this happened as officials from OGRA and the Ministry simply sat by and did not object, intervene or interrupt this speaker.” Jabbar said this so-called distributors’ chairman also claimed to have support from the Prime Minister.
