*Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms forms sub-committee to review recommendations received by stakeholders in this regard
*Petroleum minister says mechanism being considered to ensure uninterrupted CNG supply
The National Assembly (NA) was informed Monday that all election-related petitions are expected to be disposed off by the end of the year.
State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said that 403 election petitions were filed after the General Elections 2013 out of which 317 petitions had been disposed off by the election tribunals and 86 were still pending.
“The Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms seeks to complete its task at the earliest,” said the state minister.
NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told the House that the committee formed an eleven-member sub-committee in its meeting on the same day to consider recommendations received so far from different stakeholders.
“4,500 pages worth of suggestions have been received by the committee so far,” he said.
The speaker also informed the House that the membership of some parliamentarians had been suspended due to non-filing of declaration of assets and asked the members to do so at the earliest so that they could participate in the proceedings of the House.
Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the House that a mechanism was being considered to ensure uninterrupted supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) to consumers.
Per the proposal, he said, CNG dealers would be allowed to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) on their own and supply it to consumers on a regular basis after conversion.
“This market-based mechanism is expected to become operational in the next six months,” he told the House.
The minister expressed the hope that after the completion of the LNG terminal, LNG would start arriving in Pakistan within three months.
“The government plans to install more terminals and is making efforts to import two billion cubic feet of LNG in four years,” he said.
Responding to a question, the minister said that total recoverable reserves of oil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were 126 million barrels with additional 1,334 billion cubic feet of gas. “The average gas production from KP at present is 370 million cubic feet per day,” he told the House.
Moreover, the House was informed in a written reply that the portion of Karakoram highway damaged by a landslide near Attabad village in Hunza, was likely to be restored by the end of July next year.
