Abbasi responsible for petrol crisis but will resign only when PM asks

After last week’s statement in which he had held the media responsible for the petrol crisis, Federal Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abassi Wednesday realised that it was his own fault that the country, especially Punjab, had to suffer fuel crisis.

“We get our lessons the hard way. I hope we will not let such an acute crisis repeat itself ever,” the minister said in a seemingly confessionary statement.

Abassi, who had so far not only been defiant but hell-bent on shifting the blame on others, also expressed readiness to quit his office as the petroleum minister.

“If he deems that I do not deserve to hold my office anymore and if it helps the situation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can send me home right away,” Abassi said.

Going forward, the minister ruled out any petrol crisis in the future, adding that arrangements had been made in view of likely reduction in oil prices next month and rising demand for petrol.

“Sufficient quantity of petrol has been stocked to meet the demand next month,” he said adding that the LNG import will start on March 31 and the fuel will be provided to power generation plants. The price of one litre of petrol would soon be at par with that of one kilogramme of CNG, he added.

To a question, he said sufficient stock of diesel and furnace oil has also been ensured. “The CNG sector has also been allowed to import LNG and the government would provide logistic support for the supply of LNG,” the minister told journalists.

Replying to a question, he said the issue pertaining to gas theft would also be taken up with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government as loss of Rs 8 billion had been incurred due to this problem.