KARACHI: Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, expressed the hope on Friday that the gas supply would improve soon.

“The shortage is not confined to Karachi, but spread across the country, including Islamabad, due to rising demand and short supply,” the minister said while talking to the media at Karachi airport.

In reply to a question about development projects in Karachi, Sarwar Khan said the government would announce a “big package” for the city and other major towns in Sindh soon. The petroleum minister said the PTI-led government had inherited a “ruined economy”, citing the plight of Pakistan Steel, which was running in profit before 2008, but now was unable to pay wages and salaries.

“But I am sure Pakistan Steel will bounce back and serve as a catalyst in the country’s industrialisation.”

The federal minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan had asked him to meet all the four governors in order to understand the provinces’ grievances and to hammer out ways to address them.

“We will give due right to every province and take steps for judicious distribution of resources, including natural gas, at the meeting of the Council of Common Interests,” Sarwar Khan added.

Balochistan had a number of blocks from where gas supply was possible and licences had already been granted for feasibility studies in order to ensure that there was no shortage of gas in future.

In reply to a question about the PTI-led government’s performance, Sarwar Khan said it had set “new traditions of democracy”. He said governance was better during the Pervez Musharraf era than the PPP and PML-N tenures.

About corruption cases against PTI leaders, he said that “we are sure they will emerge victorious from NAB cases”.

In reply to a question about Sindh’s grievances, the federal minister said that “there will now be no conspiracy against this province”.

“The PTI has received a clear mandate in Karachi and now we have to improve our position in the interior of Sindh,” Mr Sarwar said.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2019