PM Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said it was a “very, very difficult challenge” for the government to control load shedding as he criticized the PTI for failing to secure cheap gas.
During a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Shehbaz said it was the government’s responsibility to bring the power cuts to an end but mentioned that he had stopped buying expensive used gas to generate electricity.
Pakistan is facing an escalation of its energy crisis after the nation failed to reach an agreement on July natural gas supplies last month.
The tenders for this month were rejected due to high prices and low participation.
State-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd scrapped a takeover bid for liquefied natural gas supplies in July after receiving what traders with the knowledge of the matter said would have been the most expensive supply ever shipped to the country.
It was the third time in June that Pakistan had failed to complete an LNG tender for July. The country’s inability to buy fuel threatened to exacerbate power shortages, just as warmer weather increases demand for air conditioning and electricity.
“We refrained from buying expensive gas, and the previous government missed the opportunity to buy cheap gas,” the Prime Minister said in a scathing attack on the PTI.
PM Shehbaz said the PTI cast doubt on the deal the PML-N government reached with Qatar in its last term in a case that saw former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail jailed were brought.
Moreover, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that although oil and gas prices in the international market hit record levels, the government is doing everything possible to solve the oil spill problems.
He also criticized the PTI for not maintaining the power plants.” but we understand the difficulties people face, and we will solve this problem.”
