Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday warned that “Pakistan will have no gas in years to come”, as the resource was depleting by nine percent every year.

Briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, the Minister said the government will have to restructure its gas system, as due to the depleting gas resources, there will be no gas in the country in the coming years.

He disclosed that the government was providing gas to 28 percent of people, living in the major cities, at subsidized rates, whereas the remaining 78 percent were using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and coal.

The minister said the people living in big cities will have to change their habits in terms of the usage of gas. “This trend will not continue for long,” he said.

He said that the government will issue licenses to 10 companies to import gas.

Chaudhry said the cabinet has allowed the replacement of old design currency notes of Rs. 5, 10, 50, and 100 for another year, contrary to six years proposed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The federal minister said that inflation has declined in the last three weeks. He mentioned that there has been a visible decrease in the prices of tomatoes and potatoes while the prices of sugar and flour have also remained stable.

He criticized the Sindh government for not controlling the prices of basic commodities, especially in Karachi. He said the prices of flour and sugar were higher in Karachi compared to the rest of the country, adding that the price of flour was Rs. 1,347 per 20 kilograms in Karachi, compared to Rs. 1,100 in other cities.

He added that sugar was being sold for Rs. 97 per kilogram in Karachi compared to Rs. 90 in other cities. He asked the Sindh government to control the prices of milk, flour, and sugar in Sindh, especially in Karachi, as the metropolitan city contributed 40 percent to the sensitive price indicator.

He informed that the Prime Minister has directed Federal Ministers Asad Umar and Zubaida Jalal to visit Gwadar to listen to the issues of the people.

Source: Pro Pakistani