Pakistan risks a fine of $18 billion for not completing the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project in the timeframe stipulated in the agreement, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Wednesday.
Noor Alam Khan chaired over a meeting of the National Assembly’s (NA) top committee, which discussed the non-use of Rs332 billion in gas infrastructure investment cess.
Bargees Tahir demanded progress on the government-funded projects, claiming that only Rs2 billion had been spent out of the Rs325 billion that had been received.
According to Syed Hussain Tariq, the projects aren’t moving forward and the monies are sitting inert. He forewarned Pakistan of fines in the event that the Iranian gas pipeline project is not finished on schedule.
When the Petroleum Department received Rs2.8 billion, the Secretary of Petroleum questioned how the amount of Rs325 billion came to light. The secretary also raised the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (TAPI) pipeline project’s safety and security issues.
He also revealed to the group that Pakistan had contacted the US to request assistance over the Iran gas pipeline project. He highlighted that Pakistan is unable to purchase gas from Iran due to a ban on imports. He added that there had been a considerable number of meetings with Russia during the previous three to four months. It was regrettable, according to Mohsin Aziz, that none of the three projects for which the levy had been collected had advanced.
The committee members wanted to know how much punishment Pakistan could face for delaying the completion of the Iran gas pipeline.
In response, the secretary of petroleum said that, according to the agreement, the fine could be $18 billion. Additionally, he mentioned that they had urged the US embassy to either approve the project or provide them with funds to cover the fine.
The chairman immediately gave the US envoy a call and ordered him to inform him of the seriousness of the situation. He also reaffirmed the two choices that the secretary of petroleum had mentioned.
The committee also requested documents of benefits awarded to retired judges and generals during the meeting. He added that records of plots, pensions, and benefits were requested from officials and generals. The audit authority should provide all the records by next week, according to the chairman.
He said that while the economy was failing, these people were enjoying luxuries like free oil in the thousands of litres. The committee was informed that 150,000 automobiles are receiving free fuel. The record of free fuel used by government vehicles was then requested by PAC. The price to legislators, according to Sheikh Rohail Asghar, is Rs 10 per kilometer.
According to Barjees Tahir, there are 150,000 government vehicles in the nation, and their access to free fuel needs to end.
According to Mushahid Hussain Syed, salaries in government agencies should not be higher than Rs0.5 million. The PAC chief stated that a standard government protocol uses 20 vehicles.
Asghar said that if someone’s life is in danger, then a court should be established in their homes. He remarked that Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a senior judge of the Supreme Court (SC), comes to work on foot. The committee thus directed to write a letter to the federal cabinet to stop the public’s suffering due to protocols.
The PAC chief talked about the gas pipeline connections during the meeting. According to Barjees Tahir, gas is being taken since metres are not being placed. Khan ordered the gas firms to bring legal action against those responsible for gas theft.
Also, PAC instructed Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGCL) to prosecute Karachi housing projects that were involved in gas theft. These concerns are the result of governance and management inadequacies, according to the secretary of petroleum.
He predicted that gas theft will be under control by the end of the year.
The prohibition on new gas connections was to be immediately repealed, under PAC’s order.
These issues are the result of governance and management problems, according to the secretary of petroleum.
He expected that gas theft will be under control by the end of the year. The ban on new gas connections was to be immediately repealed, under PAC’s directive. Khan also ordered the lifting of the ban on additional gas station locations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
“If there is no ban on petrol pump sites in Punjab and Sindh, then why is there a ban in other provinces?” he asked.
“OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) was instructed that it cannot ban new petrol sites; PSO (Pakistan State Oil) is a government body; promote it and discourage defaulting private companies,” he added.
The OGRA chief said that the audit of all oil refineries will be completed by June.
PAC directed to complete the audit of oil refineries within one month.
Khan remarked that he withdrew a salary of Rs150,000 per month and strives for the rights of the common man, whereas officials of the Ministry of Petroleum draw a salary of Rs7 million to Rs8 million.
“You should fight for people’s rights,” he remarked.
