Gas load shedding announced during Ramadan in Pakistan
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has announced the gas load-shedding schedule during Ramadan, media reported.
According to the schedule, gas supply will remain suspended from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. during the holy month, ARY News reported.
In an alarming announcement, the SSGC said that Pakistan’s gas reserves are likely to be reduced by half by 2027.
The SSGC also said it is working on biogas, nitrogen production and production of gas from the coal to meet the needs of the country’s gas.
The ongoing gas load shedding in Karachi continues to disrupt daily life, with citizens increasingly frustrated by the limited supply and rising costs.
Residents from various neighbourhoods have expressed growing dissatisfaction, highlighting the severe challenges brought on by the deteriorating situation.
On February 2, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) accused the country’s current government for economic and political turmoil in Pakistan, stressing that Shehbaz Sharif-led regime was unbothered about the interests of the state but instead focused on having its grip on power while paying no attention to the global warnings, Dawn reported.
In a statement, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram criticised the government for its 300 per cent increase in the salaries of parlimantarians to protect them from inflation while burdening ordinary people through relentless rise in gas prices and petroleum products.
He called the rise in POL and LPG as the sequel to the government’s anti-poor policies that would further exacerbate their miseries.
The SSGC will ensure a continued supply of gas during Sehr-o-Iftar times, the SSGC said.
Pakistan’s gas reserves are declining 8 to 10 per cent every year, the company said in its statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SPARCO) has predicted the sighting of the Ramadan moon for the year 2025, ARY News reported on Monday.
Earlier on January 1, the Pakistan government had announced an increase in the price of high-speed diesel by PKR 2.96 per litre and an increase in the price of petrol by 56 Pakistan paisas per litre, ARY News reported.
In November, opposition parties in Pakistan severely criticised the Shehbaz Sharif-led government for increasing petroleum prices, arguing that it would further burden inflation-hit citizens.
Displeasure over the government’s decision was expressed by several leading opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami.