GIDC a negation of KP’s constitutional rights, says PTI senator

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz has termed the re-imposition of gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC) through an ordinance as negation of the constitutional rights of smaller provinces, particularly terrorism-affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement on Sunday, Senator Mohsin Aziz said that instead of exploiting the natural gas reserves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federal government imposed ban on gas connections to industries and captive-power units in the province.
Now, he added, it is going to re-impose the GIDC to deprive people of the province of their constitutional rights by collecting billions to merely develop gas infrastructure in Punjab. He termed the move as sheer injustice to the people of smaller provinces, particularly the militancy-shaken Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that hefty amount of the GIDC would be spent on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas-pipeline project which could only benefit Punjab.
Mohsin Aziz, who is also vice-chairman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KPBOIT), said that the ordinance that allows collection of the GIDC and that needed to be discussed at the Council of Common Interests (CCI), was signed by president in haste.