Hordes of citizens in Karachi made a beeline for compressed natural gas (CNG) stations on Sunday morning after operations resumed temporarily from 7am until 7pm.

Previously, the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), which had announced opening CNG stations at 8pm on Thursday, extended the closure till Friday 8pm.

Sources say the SSGCL has held a meeting with the CNG leaders' association during the past few days.

During the meeting, it was decided that a proper schedule will be announced in the next week according to which gas supply for CNG stations will be ensured.

On Saturday, the Sindh government held the Centre responsible for the ongoing gas shortage in the province.

Speaking at a news conference, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani mocked Federal Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan over allegations that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was not allowing the federal government to lay down a gas pipeline in the province.

Following a visit to the SSGCL headquarters in Karachi a day prior, Ayub had said the provincial government had not given the company the "right of way" for a long time, which he said was the fundamental reason CNG shutdowns were taking place in Sindh.

Ghani took exception to Ayub's statement, saying the provincial cabinet had received two projects, which the federal government pursued and the Sindh government had gone "out of its way to solve Centre's problem".

While Ayub had placed "complete responsibility" for the gas shortage on the Sindh government and the PPP government, Ghani said: "We are not getting gas in any department and the blame has been put on the provincial government. The federal government is responsible, this is the job of the federal government."

He said that under Article 158 of the Constitution, the province that produces the gas has the first right to it, after which the remaining gas can be distributed to other provinces.

The provincial information minister said that despite the fact that Sindh has produced 70 per cent of the country's gas, the province continued to experience gas load shedding and shortages.