Asad Umar defends gas tariffs

September 25, 2018: Finance Minister Asad Umar has defended the government’s decision to increase the gas prices following criticism by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Mian Shehbaz Sharif during his speech in National Assembly on Monday, 24^th September.

He justified the government’s decision by stating that the prices of natural gas have increased drastically in past few months and therefore the government has only shifted the burden on elite class rather than middle class or underprivileged sections of the society.

He said that the decision was a result of Rs. 154 billion in losses cited by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority in its summary, who recommended a 46 per-cent increase in gas tariff to curb the damage.  

Defending his criticism of the former PML-N government regarding the increase in gas prices despite a fall in the same in international market, he said that the speech was from 2017 and gas prices have seen a sheer rise in past months.

“The fall of rupee and increase in energy prices in the international market in last 15 months is more than 50 percent,” he said.

Earlier this month, the PTI government had approved 143 percent increase in natural gas tariff during its Economic Coordination Committee meeting. The decision had a cumulative financial impact of about Rs. 116 billion.

Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan shared his two cents by stating that the consumers have been divided into six slabs, with middle and lower middle class withstanding minimum impact of only 15 to 20 percent increase. This means if they paid Rs. 252 in past as bill, they will now pay Rs. 275.

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