ISLAMABAD: In addition to the fall in temperature, residents of the capital have also been facing reduced gas pressure.

CNG supply has also been suspended in the city for three days, leading residents to expect the pressure of Sui gas would be restored.

“Despite the government’s claims and announcements about the availability of LNG, with the arrival of winter, not only is the supply of Sui gas suspended in the mornings and evenings, but I heard on Wednesday that the supply of CNG would be suspended at 6pm,” said Mohammad Naeem, a resident of Islamabad.

“Because of the announcement, I had to queue to get CNG. It seems like the problems will not be addressed at all,” he said.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has also condemned the gas shortage in Pakistan, and explicitly in Islamabad.

Senior party leader and MNA Asad Umer lashed out at the government regarding the crisis. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr Umer said this is the fourth winter under the Sharif government, and the public is hankering for gas and electricity.

He said the public is listening to stories of importing LNG for four years, and added that these projects have yielded nothing but vague commitments and false claims.

Mr Umer said the prime minister’s children are haggling over offshore companies while the underprivileged are suffering, adding that Pakistan has become self-sufficient in electricity and gas in Nawaz Sharif’s speeches and government advertisements.

He also said Mr Sharif and his government seem uninterested in providing gas to the public, and are adamant to save the wealth unveiled by the Panama Papers leaks.

An SNGPL official told Dawn all the CNG stations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed down to improve gas pressure. He said the demand for gas has increased drastically due to the recent cold wave, and teams have been set up to disconnect the supply of those using gas compressors.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2017