Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are at loggerheads with the federal government in regard to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import policy. In a Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting held on the 2nd of May, sources revealed that these three provinces had raised reservations over the federal governments right to take decisions regarding gas import and instead suggested that this should be put forth before the CCI.
The federal government has bowed down to this demand and decided to put forth this matter for evaluation before the CCI. But this has met opposition from Punjab, which believes that the federal government doesn’t need CCI’s nod for LNG imports. Initially, the government had approached the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) regarding LNG linked matters, but Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had raised objections and said this matter should be put forth before the CCI.
According to the arguments of the Sindh government, since the constitution is unable to differentiate between natural gas produced domestically and the natural gas produced from re-gasified LNG, all matters about the latter should be put forth before the CCI according to Article 154(1) of the constitution.
The Sindh government further said, “If such matters were brought before the CCI, then as provided in Article 154(7) if the federal government or a provincial government was dissatisfied with decision of the council, it may refer the matter to the joint sitting of parliament.”
Currently, Pakistan imports around 600 million cubic foot of LNG on a daily basis and it is further expected to reach 2b cubic feet by start of 2019. Two more LNG terminals will also be added to the already existing one operating at Port Qasim.
