Just as deep rooted
The government’s position on the LNG deal with Qatar is alarming. That it continues to resist divulging the price at which the LNG is being imported – as many as 14 shipments have already arrived – despite constant pressure from the opposition defies logic. Khakan Abbasi’s statement, that he’s provided all details except the pricing yet senators are unhappy, is no less shocking. Keeping the price of an imported commodity secret is unprecedented, and not in keeping with democratic practices. N-league stalwarts seem to forget such niceties when they so often claim to fight for representative government.
The government has also said that the price will not be divulged till the contract is signed, which is misleading, to say the least. How can more than a dozen shipments make their way here if no contract has been signed? And why the insistence that “Pakistan will have the cheapest LNG” when there is so much mystery regarding the end price? A proper, straight-forward deal – the way countries usually do business – would not have required such unorthodox practices. The opposition, like much of the people, remains rightly disturbed. The walkout from the Upper House on Tuesday showed, once again, that they will continue to pressure the government on the issue.
Yet it’s not just LNG that is a pressing concern for the ruling party as winter rolls in. Gas shortage is the next major problem. Both Sui Northern and Sui Southern have just informed the Public Accounts Committee that they are on the verge of bankruptcy. Typically, both are unable to keep losses due to unaccounted for gas (UFG) within range. Internal breakdowns have delayed annual audit for a good couple of years. And both are hemorrhaging as demand is just about to peak. Just like chronic electricity in the summer, gas load shedding is about to become the main theme for the winter. The government must realise, though, that people do not forget such discomforts easily. And the next general election is not all that far away.