Cabinet okays new SNGPL board

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet that met here on Wednesday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair accorded approval to the new Board of Directors (BoDs) of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) with Mohammad Ismail Qureshi, former secretary of water and power, as its new Chairman.

The new independent directors of SNGPL include Muhammad Ismail Qureshi (Chairman), Arif Saeed, Faraia Rehman Salahuddin, Sardar Saadat Ali Khan, Ahmad Atteeq Anwar, Osman Saifullah Khan, and NIT nominated.

The government would be represented on the SNGPL board by the secretary of commerce, additional secretary (policy) of the Petroleum Division, joint secretary (admin) of the Petroleum Division, representative of Finance Division, and managing director of SNGPL as executive director.

The government has already reconstituted the board of directors of other entities, including Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL), Inter State Gas Company (ISGS), Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC), Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO). Now, it is looking at changing the board of directors of SNGPL. The Petroleum Division says it is also working on BoDs of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and OGDCL.

An official of the Energy Ministry said the government has appointed a diverse and professional SNGPL Board of Directors. He said that Chairman Ismail Qureshi is a distinguished former bureaucrat who had served in high-level government positions.