Unprecedented hike in gas tariff rejected

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KPBoIT) Vice-Chairman Senator Mohsin Aziz has rejected the recent unprecedented hike in gas tariff by 67 per cent.
Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, the senator from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf said the federal government’s decision was an injustice to the consumers. He feared the manifold increase would lead to closure of industries, joblessness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country as a whole.
Mohsin Aziz said the decision would increase a sense of deprivation among the smaller federating units. He pointed out that the KP was producing surplus natural gas compared to its total consumption while gas was being supplied to Punjab as well from this province.
The senator asked the federal government to stop what he said was the step-motherly attitude towards smaller provinces and let them fully utilise the indigenous natural resources.
Mohsin Aziz went on to say that the federal government had imposed a moratorium on new gas connections for industries in KP for the last eight years. The gas loadshedding, he said, was also being carried out due to high pressure and rising consumption in Punjab.
The KP BoIT vice-chairman said the federal government was trying to burden the poor gas consumers through various tactics and unjust policies, which could not be accepted at any cost.