ISLAMABAD: A day after announcing an uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity to the textile sector in Punjab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif apparently had an afterthought on Friday, as he constituted a ministerial committee to “[finalise] proposals for (the) settlement of the issue of gas shortage for textile industry in Punjab during winter months”.

While the PM was still aboard a plane, flying back to Islamabad from London, his office released a statement saying: “The committee has been tasked to propose mechanisms for sustainable gas supply to textile industry of Punjab in winter months, addressing low pressure of gas for industry in Punjab and for the resolution of any other relevant issue.”

Also read: Punjab textile units exempted from power, gas cuts

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar — who already heads more than three dozen committees on everything from the upkeep of the Bari Imam shrine to bi-partisan electoral reform committees — has been given the reins of this one as well.

Other members of the committee, which will determine which sector in Punjab gets how much natural gas this winter, are Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Minister for Textiles Abbas Khan Afridi. In addition, representatives of the textile industry identified by the government of Punjab would also be included in the committee, along with any other member co-opted by the chair.

When asked what made the government form a committee after it had decided to facilitate Punjab-based industries at the cost of domestic consumers and the CNG sector, a government official privy to the development told Dawn: “With the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf already protesting in the streets, the government doesn’t want to hand Imran Khan another issue after the overbilling scandal.”

This first-ever announced loadshedding of natural gas during winter months will certainly have ramifications for the PML-N government in Punjab, ramifications that the committee will seek to rationalise, the official said. “Considering the supply of natural gas in relation to demand in Punjab, it’s a Catch-22 situation for the government,” he said.

On Thursday, in the absence of the petroleum minister who was also in London with the PM, Senator Dar met a delegation from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) and ordered the full restoration of gas supply to textile units in Punjab. Moreover, his office, through an official statement announced “the gas load management plan for textile units in Punjab has immediately been suspended,” ensuring that the industry got uninterrupted supply of the cheap fuel.

Earlier this week, Mr Abbasi had decided to withdraw about 108mmcfd (million cubic feet per day) of gas from textile units, including their captive power plants, in view of increased demand from the domestic sector after temperatures suddenly dropped in the country’s north.

A separate, official statement issued by the Ministry of Water and Power, said: “On the directives of PM Nawaz Sharif, the ministry has asked all electricity distribution companies (Discos) to exempt industry from loadshedding due to a shortage of gas in the country.”

But the government’s actions drew sharp criticism from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. Party spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari said the decision “to practically cut off gas supplies to domestic users and divert all the gas to Punjab industries” was taken because the textile sector was on the decline. “Around 35 per cent of the country’s textile industry has closed down,” Dr Mazari said, quoting Aptma figures.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2014