PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited to supply natural gas to around two dozen villages in Swabi district.

The directions came from a bench consisting of Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mussarat Hilali in the form of a short order on the petition of PTI MNA Aqibullah Khan, who had sought the court’s intervention for the supply of gas to several villages in his constituency in Swabi district.

The short order was issued after the completion of arguments by the lawyers for the petitioner, federal and provincial governments.

Local MNA had moved court complaining villagers are in distress over unavailability of gas

The detailed verdict in the case will be announced afterwards.

The petitioner said the people of around two dozen Swabi villages had been in distress over unavailability of natural gas and that ironically, gas pipelines had been laid in the nearby villages.

Sabitullah Khalil, lawyer for the petitioner, said few years ago, the SNGPL had estimated the gas supply to the villages in question at Rs600 million and even the government paid Rs50 million to the SNGPL for that purpose.

He said the government had promised to offer the remaining amount of money in ‘near future’ but the promise had yet to be fulfilled.

The lawyer said the gas pipeline was laid in various adjacent localities in 1995-96.

He said Rs50 million was paid to the SNGPL for gas supply to the villages in question after all codal formalities were met through a letter on Nov 11, 2013.

The lawyer said the SNGPL authorities told Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar during a recent meeting that the plan to supply gas to Swabi villages was approved in 1996.

He said Asad Qaisar later referred letters to the relevant federal minister on Feb 27, 2014, for necessary action and even discussed the matter with the speaker of the National Assembly on Apr 23, 2014.

The lawyer said the petitioner and the speaker had also requested the prime minister to relax the moratorium on supply of natural gas for the said areas.

He claimed that despite the ban on new gas connections, the relevant authorities laid so many natural gas lines in different areas of Malakand but the people of Swabi had fallen victim to the politically motivated and discriminatory attitude of the government.

The lawyer said Article 158 of the Constitution clearly stated that the province in which a wellhead of natural gas is situated will have precedence over other parts of Pakistan to meet its needs from that wellhead.

He also said in a 2013 judgment, the high court had ordered the gas supply to Regi Lalma Township.

Deputy attorney general Kifayatullah Khan said the government had placed moratorium on new gas connections five years ago due to scarcity of gas.

He said in light of the ban, the SNGPL couldn’t provide natural gas to more areas.

The bench asked if the issuance of new gas connections was banned, then why money was received from the provincial government for the said project of gas supply to those areas.

The respondents in the petition were the KP Government through the chief secretary, secretary to the prime minister, federal government through the petroleum ministry, SNGPL through its managing director, SNGPL Peshawar region general manager, and finance secretary.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2016