According to newspaper reports, Pakistani Awami Tehreek Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri has called for investigations into an alleged agreement of $21 billion with the Qatari government. Earlier, Qadri started a long march and had staged a sit-in in Islamabad, asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign. However, after failing to get the desired results, the PAT chief packed his luggage and went to the United States and then Canada which is his newly acquired homeland. Mr Qadri is in a habit of issuing statements on the prevailing situation in the country. No doubt criticizing the government policies and taking out anti-government rallies is normal in a democratic set up and pinpointing the government mistakes is part of the job unofficially designated for the opposition parties. However, criticism for the sake of criticism is disservice to this nation. It does not come to a national leader like Mr Qadri to point finger at everything which the government takes in the best interest of the nation.
The government is planning to import Liquefied Natural Gas and set up gas-based power plants in the country. Therefore, it has allowed smaller plants to seek fresh investments from abroad. However, the local investors have sought some clarifications regarding the government policy for committing long-term investments. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has already attended a public hearing arranged on a petition for a fair tariff regime for the LNG power projects as the government is in dire need to set up 3,600MW of LNG power plants across the province to end load-shedding by 2017. However, some investors were reluctant to initiate 800MW LNG power plants in Punjab in the absence of a gas supply framework document.
A majority of the potential investors have asked the authority to review the cost on per megawatt basis, devise internal rate of return and encourage setting up of small power plants. The country needs unity and stability more than it was needed in the past. Pakistan has been under siege from various regional and international actors and the government will have to walk carefully on the tight rope of frequent crisis. The country is facing chronic energy crisis and the government is trying its best to attract foreign investment in this sector, but the opposition leaders, including Mr Qadri should have to give priority to the national interests. According to news reports Shahid Sattar, a former member energy of the Planning Commission, has said that issue of circular debt needs to be resolved before initiating LNG power plant projects.