ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from all political parties walked out of a rare joint session of three Senate standing committees to protest the government’s alleged indifference towards the recent fuel crisis, which was evidenced by the absence of two key federal ministers from Friday’s meeting.

When the standing committees on Water and Power, Petroleum and Natural Resources and Finance met on Friday, they expressed dismay at the fact that in an official statement, the government had called this crisis “a minor disruption” and blamed it merely on the “exceptional reduction in prices of petroleum products”.

Also read: PM directs ministries to improve coordination for smooth petrol supply

Co-chaired by ANP’s Zahid Khan, PPP’s Mohammad Yousaf and MQM’s Nasreen Jalil, the joint sitting was livid when it was told that of the three ministers who were called to the meeting, only Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had turned up with three federal secretaries in tow. Disturbed by the absence of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif, the fuming senators walked out and had to be brought back by government representatives.

The senators said the decision to only send the petroleum minister to the committee meant the government had pre-fixed responsibility for the national crisis and that five senior petroleum supply-chain officials had been made scapegoats for the follies of ministries which had huge payables.

The petroleum minister then said that his statement before the committee should be considered a collective statement on behalf of the federal cabinet, adding that all three secretaries from the relevant ministries were on hand to answer specific questions. But the senators would have none of it and said that while any minister could speak on behalf of the government on the floor of the Senate or the National Assembly, each minister was individually responsible to attend house committees meetings to provide their inputs, under the rules.

They were also critical of the finance minister’s press conference, where he had absolved himself of any responsibility, even though he had a central role in the non-clearance of circular debt. They said a crisis that affected the majority of the population for more than a week and caused the PM to cancel all his engagements, including a high-profile visit to Switzerland, could not be considered a minor one by any stretch of the imagination. But Mr Abbasi told the committee that the phrase “minor disruption” had been misreported.

When asked who had profited from this crisis, Petroleum Secretary Arshad Mirza said the shortage was caused by the ‘genie of the bottle’ who had earned huge profits by buying petrol in canisters and sold it for exorbitant sums.

He said it was the government’s conclusive view that a new business came into being over the course of these days, where some people purchased petrol at the official rate of Rs78 per litre, but sold it for as high as Rs150 or Rs200 per litre. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) chairman also said that there were reports that petrol was sold at Rs300 per litre, as reported by a senator, but this account could not be independently verified.

Mr Abbasi said the oil marketing companies (OMCs) could not earn profits from a shortage because they could not sell the product at higher rates. He said that many people bought petrol in containers and sold it at higher rates. He contended that beggars had disappeared from the roads and markets of the capital because they were standing in line to buy fuel to sell at double the price.

He also reiterated his oft-repeated statement that low prices, high demand, the closure of a refinery and issues between Pakistan State Oil and the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation had led to the petrol shortage and the crisis had nothing to do with financing problems or with the ministries of Finance or Water and Power.

Water And Power Secretary Younas Dhaga said the ministry had paid Rs69 billion in three months since October 2014 against fuel supplies of Rs45 billion, which meant it had cleared Rs24 billion in past dues, maintaining that his ministry was not responsible for the shortage.

Ogra Chairman Saeed Ahmad Khan said its rules required companies to build infrastructure to ensure 20 days of stock in storage, but Ogra was not responsible for building their stocks. He said Ogra did not grant any licence without verifying the storage capacity of 20 days but it was not Ogra’s duty to see if petroleum products were actually being kept there – a responsibility that he said belonged to others, but declined to identify them, saying the regulator was not required to speak for others.

He also said Ogra had imposed Rs17 million in fines on OMCs for overcharging by their dealers in the last year.

However, the senators appeared unhappy and Senator Zahid Khan said the joint sitting was not satisfied with the answers provided by the officials and they would reflect this in the report which would be submitted for debate in the house. They also demanded a parliamentary commission to investigate the matter.

Published in Dawn January 24th , 2015

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