Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has ruled out any further increase in gas tariff and said the government will not put an additional burden on consumers.

In a video message after a high-level meeting on energy sector with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair in Islamabad on Friday, Firdous said the prime minister had a clear stance that no additional burden would be put on gas consumers and they would be rather facilitated through the recently-announced economic relief package. She said the prime minister had directed the energy minister to postpone any plans to increase the gas tariff. The meeting decided that reforms would be introduced in gas sector and various steps would be taken to solve problems of gas consumers.

Firdous said the meeting decided to introduce institutional reforms in the gas sector. The Energy Committee was directed to present its reform agenda at the ECC meeting. She said the prime minister issued directives to the authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to consumers. She said it was decided that industrial and commercial sectors would also be supplied LNG and LPG. She said that gas companies were asked to set up consumer facilitation centres as early as possible. She said that heads of gas companies were directed to cut costs and take measures to eliminate gas theft and line losses.