Dr Asim tasked with formulating petroleum sector policies

ISLAMABAD: In a new development, former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain has been given the task to formulate policies for the petroleum sector.

In this regard, he has started sitting in the Petroleum Division on the insistence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former president Asif Zardari as an unofficial adviser.

Energy ministry sources confirmed to The News that he held a meeting on gas policy some days ago in the Petroleum Division and also held a general meeting on Tuesday with top mandarins of the division.

Sources insisted that Dr Asim had been assigned to make oil and gas sector policies for the country.

Dr Asim had served as an adviser to the prime minister for petroleum & natural resources with the status of federal minister from November 2008 to August 2009 and again held the portfolio from May 2011 to May 2013 during the PPP government.

He was detained by the authorities during a crackdown on outlaws amid rising incidents of violence in Karachi back in 2015. Later, he served two terms as chairman Sindh Higher Education from 2014 to 2022.

Talking to The News, Dr Asim said that he would not formally join the government. However, when asked if he was attending the meetings as an unofficial adviser, he kept mum. Former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is the chairman of the task force on energy, has also been giving his input to the government on various issues of the petroleum sector.