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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government has decided to lift its years-long ban on new gas connections for domestic use, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Wednesday, saying authorities would issue Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) connections for domestic use.

Pakistan's government announced it was banning new gas connections in 2021, citing rapidly depleting gas reserves in the country. This forced users to switch from piped gas to other alternative sources of fuel for cooking and heating purposes, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas, (LPG), which is more expensive.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Malik said the government was mindful of accidents such as explosions due to gas leaks and substandard cylinders, and of the difficulties people faced in having gas cylinders refilled.

"Due to all of these things and at the people's strong insistence, the prime minister and the government of Pakistan have decided that RLNG, which is imported gas, its new connections will be issued," Malik said.

The minister said that the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) will entertain people's applications for new gas connections after the cabinet issues a notification in this regard.

Malik said RLNG is more expensive than local gas but said it was still 30-35 percent cheaper than LPG.

"This means that inflation, regarding which the government of Shehbaz Sharif has controlled through untiring efforts, people will get some more support on it," the minister said.

Malik said the prime minister was mindful that RLNG is expensive compared to domestic gas, adding that the government would try to tackle Pakistan's energy crisis.

"For the discovery of local gas, we have completed one bid round," he said. "The second bid round will be completed soon. Companies from around the world, be it [from] our friend Turkiye, our friend China or our friend America, we will bring all these companies and try to utilize all the resources of on-shore and off-shore gas."

The development takes place after the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), one of the country's leading oil and gas exploration and production companies, said it has discovered "significant" oil and gas reserves in the Attock district of Punjab last week.

Earlier in February, Mari Energies, a Pakistani hydrocarbon exploration firm, discovered new oil and gas reserves in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, with initial tests suggesting a flow of 12.96 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas and around 20 barrel per day (bbl/d) of condensate.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Qatar after Israeli airstrikes hit a civilian neighborhood in Doha to target Hamas leaders, saying his government immediately condemned the attack.

Qatar has played a central role in efforts to mediate peace in Gaza, allowing Hamas’ political bureau to operate from its territory as part of negotiations.

Hamas confirmed after the strike that Israel had sought to kill its negotiators, in an attack that left at least six people dead, including a Qatari security guard.

“Yesterday, in Qatar, Israel once again launched an attack, a barbarity, against a sovereign country,” Sharif said during his cabinet meeting. “I believe that no matter how much it is condemned, it will not going to be enough.”

“I think that the blood that is being shed in Palestine, and the innocent children, young people, sisters, mothers and elders, who are being martyred, I believe not just in contemporary history but in the history of the world, there is no other example of such barbarity, cruelty and oppression,” he continued.

Sharif said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar immediately issued a statement after the attack, adding he himself spoke to the Emir of Qatar as well to assure him of Pakistan’s solidarity.

“He thanked the people of Pakistan, the government, and everyone for taking a stand in this difficult time,” he said while referring to the Qatari leader.

PAKISTAN REQUESTS SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING

Separately, Dar said Pakistan, Algeria and Somalia had requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in light of Israel’s attack on Qatar.

“Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity and firm support with the Government and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar wrote on social media platform X.

Israel’s attack takes place amid its military operations in Gaza. More than 64,600 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel launched its military campaign in October 2023.

Qatari officials denounced the strike as a “criminal attack” and a “flagrant violation” of international law that endangered the security of both Qatari citizens and foreign residents.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault was a “wholly independent Israeli operation” for which his government took “full responsibility.”