PPP Blocks Gas Revenue Bills as Rift With Government Deepens

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party has halted progress on two government-backed gas revenue bills in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Petroleum, bringing a widening political dispute with the federal government into parliamentary proceedings. The legislation concerns changes to the Natural Gas Development Surcharge and the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess, two mechanisms linked to the collection and use of revenue from the country’s gas sector.

The move came during a meeting of the petroleum committee chaired by PPP lawmaker Syed Mustafa Mehmood. At the start of the proceedings, senior PPP parliamentarian Syed Naveed Qamar asked the committee not to take up the Natural Gas Development Surcharge Amendment Bill and the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Amendment Bill. The committee subsequently deferred both pieces of legislation.

The proposed GIDC changes would broaden the permitted use of funds collected through the cess. The existing framework is linked to projects including the Pakistan-Iran pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Pakistan pipeline and cross-country gas infrastructure. The Petroleum Division sought authority to also use GIDC resources for strategic oil and gas reserves. According to information presented in connection with the legislation, around Rs295 billion remains unused in the public kitty, while more than Rs400 billion collected from consumers by fertiliser companies has not reached the national exchequer because of legal disputes.

The parliamentary setback comes as relations between the PPP and the government face renewed strain over several political issues. Qamar said the PPP is not formally part of the ruling coalition but has been extending support to the government. He indicated that the party does not intend to continue providing that support without reciprocal movement on concerns it has already raised.

Among the issues cited by the PPP are matters connected with the recent elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, judicial appointments and other political disagreements. Qamar said the government had previously undertaken to address the party’s reservations but that the PPP had not seen tangible progress. He said the party had therefore decided to withhold support until movement was made on those matters.

The dispute has also extended beyond the petroleum committee. Qamar referred to the Islamabad Local Government Bill, saying the PPP had objected to the way the government attempted to advance the legislation through the relevant parliamentary panel and had submitted a dissenting note. The development shows that disagreements between the two sides are now affecting multiple items on the government’s legislative agenda rather than remaining confined to political negotiations outside parliament.

During the petroleum committee meeting, Chairman Mustafa Mehmood also raised the issue of subsidised gas supplied to fertiliser producers, arguing that cheaper gas should not be provided if its benefit does not ultimately reach farmers. For Pakistan, the immediate consequence of the committee’s decision is that proposed changes governing substantial gas-related revenues will remain pending. Further progress on the two bills will require their return to the parliamentary process, while the broader political impasse will depend on whether the government addresses the reservations the PPP says must be resolved before it restores its support.