(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Prime minister summons high-level meeting today on fuel management focusing on provision of immediate relief suspends four officials.
Islamabad — With fuel shortage in most parts of the country worsening Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday ordered a probe into the unprecedented disruption in social life and summoned a top level meeting today (Monday) to address the crisis.
The inquiry will probe the role of the Ministry of Petroleum Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Pakistan State Oil as well as other private petroleum companies in the acute fuel shortage in Pakistan’s most populous province.
The prime minister cancelled his official engagements scheduled for Monday. He is expected to hold meetings on Monday on fuel management focusing on provision of immediate relief to the people.
Officials said the prime minister is expected to take important decisions taking to task those responsible for the current crisis and ensuring measures to bridge the supply-demand gap.
“The prime minister unequivocally said that people should not suffer and every measure will be taken to provide them relief on immediate basis” a statement from the Prime Minister’s House stated on Sunday.
On Saturday the prime minister suspended four senior government officials including those who had consistently been warning the government in advance of the impending crisis.
Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed Additional Secretary Mohammed Naeem Malik Director General Oil Mohammed Azam and Pakistan State Oil’s Managing Director Amjad Parvez Janjua were suspended from their duties.
The move to suspend the officials followed days of bad publicity for the government in the shape of continued news coverage of the petrol shortage which has left thousands stranded in severe weather on the streets of urban Punjab the centre of prime minister’s political power base.
In Multan angry residents perturbed by the government’s incompetence to resolve the crisis protested at Kalma Chowk shouting anti-government slogans and demanding the resignation of Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
At many pumps tempers spilled over as worn out and angry citizens scuffled with petrol stations owner when their hours long wait saw no relief.
Economist Shahid Hassan Siddiqui rubbished the petroleum minister’s statement in which he claimed that petrol crisis is caused by skyrocketing demands owing to a price fall.
Officials told The Express Tribune that the petroleum ministry had informed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of cabinet in its meeting on January 10 that the country’s oil reserves on an average were enough for 18 days of consumption.
However Punjab started facing petrol shortages soon after the ECC meeting. Within days the situation worsened and petrol stations ran dry with people scrambling to purchase whatever fuel available at the filling stations.
But as oil companies and government officials continued to trade accusations on Friday with neither side willing to accept culpability for the sudden crunch in petrol supplies in the northern half of the country both sides agree on one fact: there was an unprecedented surge in demand for petrol after the government decided to reduce prices. -newskhaleejtimes.com
For more news from Khaleej Times follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes and on Twitter at khaleejtimes
Follow khaleejtimes ->
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.