Tit-for-tat attacks between neighbors Iran and Pakistan are linked to separatists fighting for independence of the mineral-rich Balochistan region that spans their borders. Iran's airstrike on the Pakistani border town of Panjgur on January 16 was aimed at the terrorist militia Jaish al-Adl. Tehran holds the group responsible for several attacks on civilians and soldiers in Iran. Two days later, Pakistan's army retaliated with an attack on an Iranian village near the city of Sarawan. Their aim was to eliminate fighters of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Islamabad cited credible intelligence about imminent large-scale terrorist activities by the group. Both Jaysh al-Adl and the BLF are militant separatist groups fighting for the independence of a region called Balochistan.   Where is Balochistan? The Baloch are an ethnic group who live on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border and into parts of southern Afghanistan. In total, this area is roughly the size of France. The Pakistani province of Balochistan forms the largest part, followed by the province of Sistan and Balochistan on the Iranian side. Mountainous with a dry desert climate, it is sparsely populated by some nine million Balochs who are organized into tribes rather than feeling that they belong to a state.   Efforts for autonomy or independence have been violently suppressed on both sides of the border for decades. On the Pakistani side, such efforts are seen as an attempt to divide the country; on the Iranian side, things are complicated by fact that the Baloch are a Sunni minority in an otherwise predominantly Shiite country. Both states have taken correspondingly harsh action against the ethnic group. In Pakistan up to 20,000 Balochs have disappeared in recent decades, presumably abducted, tortured or even murdered by Pakistani security forces, according to Amnesty International.    As the tensions drag on, Balochs have become increasingly radicalized, accusing both governments of systematic discrimination and plundering their region. Several groups of militant insurgents have carried out attacks on both sides of the border, afterwards retreating into the neighboring country across the 900-kilometer (550-mile) border, which is difficult to navigate and control.   Rich resources, poor population Balochistan is also rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, silver, copper and other metals. Still, the population is among the poorest in Iran and Pakistan. In recent decades, there have been several uprisings on both sides of the border, which have been bloodily suppressed by both Islamabad and Tehran.   On the Pakistani side, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also causes tensions. It runs from the Chinese city of Kashgar across the country to the newly built deep-sea port of Gwadar, giving the People's Republic access to the Indian Ocean as part of the Chinese "New Silk Road" initiative.   While Gwadar is located in Balochistan, its residents hardly benefit from such trade, transportation and infrastructure developments. As a result, there have been an increasing number of attacks on Chinese convoys or teams of workers, and the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi has also been targeted in a terrorist attack. Risk of further escalation? Tehran and Islamabad have long accused each other of not taking strict enough action against the separatist Balochs in their own country. The Iranian attack was likely in retaliation for a January 3 bombing that killed 80 in the southern Iranian city of Kerman. Tehran may have also wanted to signal strength and deterrence to Israel and the United States as the conflict in the Middle East grows. Tehran had also previously fired missiles at targets in Syria and northern Iraq.   Islamabad also could not leave an Iranian attack unanswered, though their version was relatively restrained. Its air strikes on Iranian soil did not target Iranian facilities or security forces, but Pakistani citizens. While the Pakistani army claims that terrorists were involved, civilians are also said to have been among the dead.   Relations between Islamabad and Tehran are tense, but given each of their current concerns, escalating the conflict would unlikely be in their interest. Iran is already involved in the Middle East conflict, supporting the anti-Israeli terrorist militias of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.   Pakistan has elections scheduled in three weeks, with the current government in power only on an interim basis. In terms of foreign policy, the country is at loggerheads with its arch-rival India, meanwhile relations with Afghanistan have also been strained since the government deported hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees a few weeks ago.

Large-scale protests have erupted across Balochistan after an alarming rise in cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances spanning different demographics in the region, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) stated in a report. Notably, the month of November witnessed an alarming rise in cases of human rights violations throughout Balochistan. 65 incidents of enforced disappearances were recorded, spanning different demographics from under-age to disabled persons, newlyweds, students, doctors, shopkeepers, and labourers. 39 extrajudicial killings were reported, including 10 previously disappeared persons killed by state forces in fake encounters. Throughout the month, Balochistan witnessed a tragic toll with the loss of 39 lives, including five women, in various incidents. While 30 of the victims have been identified, the identities of 10 remain unknown. One of the most disturbing occurrences that triggered widespread outrage and protests was the extrajudicial killing of ten Baloch students, previously reported missing but later killed by the CTD in a series of fabricated encounters, HRCB reported. The first incident occurred on November 8 when CTD officials claimed the killing of three militants in an alleged exchange of fire in Khuzdar, with a significant cache of ammunition supposedly seized. However, investigations revealed disturbing details, including the identification of one victim, Aftab Sumalani, who previously disappeared by forces from Hazarganji Quetta on August 11. Another victim, Abdullah, had been detained and disappeared by Pakistani forces two years prior, while the third victim, Hamza, also had a history of disappearance. Later, on November 19, police brought three more bodies to the Hoshap police station, claiming they were victims of a car explosion. Upon identification, it was revealed that these victims, Nabi Bakhsh, Adil Essa, and Shahjan Essa, were students who had been forcibly disappeared on August 22, HRCB reported. Then, on October 23, the CTD again transported four bodies to Teaching Hospital Turbat, alleging their deaths occurred in an encounter on Banuk Chadahi Pasni Road. One of the deceased, Balach, a tailor at Star Plus market and a resident of Absar in Turbat, was detained by the CTD from his home on October 29 in front of his family. He was produced in the court on November 21, wherein, the court granted him a 10-day remand. During this period, his family met him, provided financial support, and witnessed legal proceedings, contradicting claims made by the authorities regarding his encounter death. The other three victims were identified as Saif son of Umeed, also a resident of Absor abducted on August 1 from his grocery shop, Shakur of Noor Jan, from Pulabad Kasano area of Tump abducted on June 25, and Wadood, son of Mubarak, a resident of Panjgur abducted from Army Camp on April 27 after being summoned. These incidents led to widespread protests in most parts of Balochistan where people from all walks of life joined the victims’ families against the long-standing systematic violence and ethnic targeting of Baloch people by the state through inhuman practices such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, HRCB reported. However, despite peaceful protests, the forces responded with lethal measures by beating and disrespecting the protesters and creating hurdles for the marchers. Moreover, further casualties during the month included nine individuals reportedly killed by the FC, two of whom were identified as separatists, while seven others died in an alleged encounter in Zhob. A person named Shoaib, son of Abdul Hameed, a Zamyad driver lost his life in firing by the forces. Furthermore, a woman fell victim to indiscriminate firing by SHO Noshki, Asadullah Mengal, which led to local protests against the continued violence by the police authorities. In another incident, six people were shot dead in targeted killings by unknown militants, five by Baloch militant organizations, and four people by the local death squad operatives, including journalist Sharif Shahzad, known for his reporting on a previous incident of violence against a woman by a death squad member in Nal, Khuzdar., HRCB reported. Other distressing incidents included the honour killing of a man and woman by the victim’s husband after which the two decomposed bodies were recovered in Mastung and Harnai. Enforced disappearances carried out by the paramilitary forces of Pakistan marked a troubling trend with sixty-five documented cases in the past month, predominantly from districts Kech, Awaran, and Gwadar. This affected a wide range of people, from minors to the disabled, from newlyweds to students, shopkeepers, and labourers. The report added that the incidents involving underage abductions were particularly alarming. In Wadh, Abdul Qadeer and Salahuddin — mere teenagers aged 13 and 14 — were forcibly taken away from Syed Momin Shah Mosque by Pakistani forces. Similarly, Amjad in Ormara, an 11-year-old went missing after protesting against land mafias. Bilal, a 16-year-old from Gwadar, forcibly disappeared for the second time from his home. All of them were students, HRCB reported. In another incident, nine other students were abducted across various districts. They were identified as Abdul Wahab, Shahid, Ali Juma, Imdad, Sheeran, Jameel, Sherdil, Ahmed Ibrahim, and Sameer, who were forcibly whisked away from his hostel. While Imdad, Sherdil, and Ahmed Ibrahim were eventually released, the rest remain missing. In instances involving disabled persons, Atwar disappeared during a military raid in Sibi. Notably, a brother of his had previously been killed by the Pakistan Army. The abduction of bridegrooms also stood out among the distressing incidents which reflects the callousness even during personal celebrations, as per the report. Liaqat, preparing for his wedding ceremony in Khuzdar, was whisked away by Pakistani forces a mere two days before his marriage. Similarly, Sibghatullah Sarpara, a shopkeeper, was abducted just a day after his marriage from Chaghai. It should be noted that in 2012, the father of Liaqat, Sakhi Dad was killed by a state-backed death squad group. In various incidents across district Awaran, security forces carried out multiple abductions, forcibly taking away fourteen people, including Gazzin, Hasil, Barkat, Hafiz Azeem, Muhammad Qasim, Akram, Lal Jan, Shahnawaz, Javed, Sajid Zabad, Mahdmood, Rahim Jan, Akhtar, and Muhammad Ameen, who is being disappeared for the third time, HRCB reported. Hafiz Azeem, Muhammad Qasim, Akram, and Sajid were later released, while others remain missing. Noorbakhsh, Akhtar’s brother was shot dead on 8 November by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). Similar abductions occurred in district Kech, where twelve people were detained and then disappeared. The victims include Noman, Saeed Ahmad, Wajo Salim, Allahdad, Adnan, Liaqat, Samad Assa, Muslim Ali, Mansoor, Waqar, Gulzar, and Miraj, whose father was found dead in custody in Karachi after being abducted in 2012. Only Adnan has been released among these people, and this marks the second abduction of Muslim Ali. The report further highlighted that the forces carried out a series of detentions and disappearances in district Gwadar and surrounding areas. Salim Raza, Razzaq Saud, and Amjad were abducted from Pasni, while Habib from Naiyaabad, Sameer Hamza from Surbandan, and Amjad from Ormara. Two persons were detained and disappeared from Khuzdar. Liaqat, son of Saleh Muhammad was taken away from his retail shop in Zehri, while another individual, named Haroon Baloch faced a similar fate but was later released. In Quetta, a series of raids conducted by the security forces involving Frontier Corps (FC), CTD, and intelligence agencies led to the disappearance of three youths – Attaullah, Hamza, and Bibagr. Hamza and Bibagr were brothers working as laborers. All of them were eventually released on November 10. In a separate incident, Jamal Marri, son of Gul Khan Marri, was apprehended by CTD in a raid in the New Kahan area of Quetta and subjected to enforced disappearance. One person, namely Kaleemullah, son of Abdul Hakeem Shahwani, was detained by FC and plain-clothed intelligence officers from the Khadkocha area of Mastung and disappeared. In the Sui area of Dera Bugti, six people were abducted by the security personnel. The victims were Jalab, Laik, Bhagia, Laeek, Muhammad, and Meeran Bugti. Two of Meeran’s sons had been killed by a local death squad a few years ago. Moreover, one person, Qaiser son of Ghazi Khan, was taken into custody and forcibly disappeared by the forces from Naseerabad. Although Mohammad and Meeran were abducted in October, we received information about their cases only this month due to internet unavailability. The report further cited an incident where three people were abducted from Sindh. Latif, son of Bacha and a resident of Sibi Lehri, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies from the Larkana area. He had migrated to Sindh and was working there. Similarly, Hasnain Baloch was apprehended and then disappeared by the forces from the Lyari area of Karachi while traveling. Moreover, Muhammad Ismail was abducted from his Karachi home by unknown persons but returned safely after eight days, HRCB reported.   Source: ANI

The expulsion of Afghans by Pakistan  has not played well on the psyche of the border city of Chaman, Balochistan. To further aggravate the situation are Pakistan’s human rights violations and the ever-increasing Chinese interests in Gwadar through CPEC. The Chaman border is once again in the mainstream after the leader of the ‘Haq Do Gwadar Tehreek’ (Give Us Rights Movement) Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rahman Baloch was detained and subsequently prevented from attending the protest. A peaceful sit-in at the national highway in the Chaman district has been ongoing for nearly 4 weeks now, far from the media coverage and government attention. Yet the locals are determined, waiting to be granted rights over their land by the tyrannical government. Thousands of people are sitting at the porous Spin Boldak border asking for basic constitutional rights. Further, the banishment of Afghan descent folk who were promised shelter in Pakistan from unrest in Afghanistan for more than four decades has intensified the border climate. For the Pashtun citizenry, the border has always been non-existent. The sudden shift in Pakistan’s attitude towards neighboring Afghanistan is bound to break families on either side of the border. More than half of border dwellers have businesses and employment on the other side; the move will endanger their livelihood – an urgent concern in Balochistan given the Chinese takeover of their mineral-rich land. Chaman like other border areas neither has any fruit or crop yield, nor is there industry. How is the government then expecting the people to earn their livelihood? With the border now requiring passports and visas, the Pashtuns will further fall to the lowest financial strata of Pakistani society during the time of economic collapse and starvation. “The locals have been desperate for the government’s attention,” noted Hidayat-ur-Rahman, who has been jailed and detained several times. He fears for the fate of Balochistan amidst this crisis. If in the days preceding the elections, the political elite are ignoring the people, imagine how they they will treat them once in power. It is not the first time that Rahman has received backlash from the police and the Pak Army for his statements, yet he has persisted in the face of the Pak dictatorship. Rahman lamented, “We are being made slaves, we are arrested for calling a spade a spade!” He has been the mouthpiece for Balochistan’s seven-decade struggle for liberation from Pakistani colonization. The sit-in Haq Do protest was also joined by the popular leader of the National Democratic Movement, Mohsin Dawar. Local administration issued advisories against him, and the powerful circles ensured he was escorted back to the airport in Quetta and returned to Islamabad. Why the government is striving to contain the uprising in Chaman is a question for any reasonable citizen to reflect upon. Several Baloch police officials have been fired for showing sympathy to Afghan refugees. They were recorded criticizing the government’s decision to cruelly throw out the Afghan ethnic population and appealing to other officers to join the cause. It is widely known that the dictatorial rulers have continued dissenting the voices of the vulnerable. Several local leaders also claim that the extradition of Afghans is an excuse to increase the Pak Army footprint and surveillance in Balochistan. Clearly, it is the mockery of democracy in Pakistan. Rather than building better relations with Afghanistan and brainstorming solutions to the sudden Afghan expulsion, Pakistan is bent on building walls between ethnic Pashtun and Pathan communities on both sides of the border; this has always proved counterproductive. Reconciliation is far-fetched when Pakistan could not even give the Afghans an honorable return. With Afghan leadership’s prolonged silence, political analysts predict turbulent times ahead. Raising barriers between people by the use of force is not only wicked but a violation of human rights. The porous border was a symbol of brotherhood between both nations and raising the boundary will have serious repercussions. Source: Islam Khabar

At least 52 people were killed and dozens more injured in a suicide bombing attack outside a mosque in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province, Pakistan, police said. Friday's attack came as a large crowd had gathered outside the mosque to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (S.). Some people were in critical condition and a senior police officer was also among the dead, government administrator Attah Ullah said.  President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and asked authorities to assist the wounded and the victims' families. In a separate incident in neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, at least five people were killed when two explosions at a mosque. Islamist militants have attacked both provinces that border Afghanistan in recent years. These militants aim to overthrow Pakistan's government and impose strict Islamic law. A religious holiday, and an uptick in attacks in the country Millions of Muslims around the world are celebrating the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad — otherwise known as Mawlid al-Nabi. Believers may go to mosques to pray and read the Quran or hold public festivities to celebrate the life of the prophet. In a statement, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti denounced the bombing and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives, saying it was a "heinous act" to target people on Mawlid al-Nabi. Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is the largest and least-populous province in Pakistan.  Ethnic separatist groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army have long waged a low-level insurgency against the Pakistani government. Pakistani Taliban also have a strong presence in the province. The country has seen an increasing number of attacks this year, especially by Islamist militants, following the breakdown of a cease-fire agreement between the Pakistani Taliban and the national government last year.

The Balochistan government has once again expressed annoyance over the financial crisis, which it claims has been caused by the centre’s action to not pay the province’s constitutional share in the NFC award. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo on Tuesday also lamented the “negative attitude of the federal finance and planning ministries”. The meeting was told that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced a grant of Rs10 billion for the rehabilitation of flood affectees but the money was yet to be released after 10 months. The prime minister had directed the finance and planning ministries to resolve the issue but they have done nothing so far. The provincial ministers observed that the negative attitude of federal authorities was causing resentment and frustration among the people of Balochistan. It was decided that the provincial government will register a strong protest with Islamabad on the issue. A delegation headed by the chief minister and comprising the leaders of the parliamentary parties, provincial ministers, senators and MNAs will soon take up the matter with the prime minister.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a police truck near the city of Sibi. It's the latest in a series of attacks against police in the South Asian country. A suicide bombing killed at least nine police officers in southwest Pakistan on Monday, a police spokesperson said. Another 16 people were wounded from the blast, which targeted a police truck near Sibi, a city 160 km (100 miles) east of Quetta in Balochistan province. "The suicide bomber was riding a motorbike and hit the truck from behind," senior police official Abdul Hai Aamir told the AFP news agency. Authorities said the police officers were returning from a week-long cattle show where they had been providing security. Photos of the aftermath showed the truck overturned on the road with its windows shattered. "The terrorists who are carrying out such attacks are the enemy of Pakistan," said Balochistan's Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo. Culprit unclear No group immediately responsibility for the suicide bombing on Monday, but it comes amid an increase in attacks against Pakistan's police after a breakdown in peace talks between the government and the Taliban in November. "Terrorism in Balochistan is part of a nefarious agenda to destabilize the country," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement. Balochistan, which borders both Afghanistan and Iran, has also long been targeted by ethnic separatist groups. Baloch separatists say they do not see profits from the region's vast natural resources. Locals also say billions of dollars invested by China under the Belt and Road Initiative has not reached them.

The bodies of passengers who died in the crash "are beyond recognition," a senior official said. Thousands of people each year die in road accidents in Pakistan due to lax safety rules and poor road quality. At least 40 people have reportedly died after a passenger bus fell off a bridge into a ravine and burst into flames on Sunday morning in Pakistan's Balochistan province. There were 48 passengers on board travelling from Quetta to Karachi, a local official said, adding that the death toll is likely to rise.  What do we know about the crash? There were 48 passengers on board the bus when it crashed, according to Hamza Anjum, a senior official from the Lasbela district. Three people, including a child and a woman have been rescued alive so far, Anjum told the Pakistani news website Dawn. "Due to speeding, the coach crashed into the pillar of a bridge while taking a U-turn near Lasbela. The vehicle subsequently careened into a ravine and then caught fire," he told Dawn. Speaking to reporters at the accident site, Anjum said authorities would conduct DNA tests to identify the remains of the passengers, as their remains had been "badly mutilated." "The dead bodies...are beyond recognition," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, the chief minister of Balochistan, offered his condolences and called on authorities and rescue teams to provide the best medical facilities to the survivors of the crash. Road safety issues Major road accidents occur regularly in Pakistan, with poor road quality, lax safety rules and reckless driving contributing to the number of fatal accidents. Over 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan's roads and highways according to 2018 estimates by the World Health Organization. Bus accidents and resultant deaths are common because the vehicles are often filled to capacity and seatbelts are not frequently used.

The number of Cholera cases in the Zhob district of Balochistan province is once again on the rise, after the recent devastating spell of rains and floods in the province. According to Pakistani newspaper the Dawn, official sources said on Monday that two children have lost their lives while dozens were affected in different areas of Zhob district due to the consumption of contaminated water. The waterborne disease continues to spread in Balochistan as almost all water resources were badly affected by floods and rainfall. The cases were reported in Sharan Babakarkhil and Gastoi Bahlul areas of Zhob where two children have died while several people were also brought to the nearby health facility requiring immediate medical attention. The recent flash floods in the country have contributed to cholera and diarrhea outbreaks as clean drinking water was not available. Sources said that the cholera cases were also reported from Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Jhal Magsi, Noshki, Nasirabad and other areas of the Lasbela district, the Dawn reported. Thousands of people in far-flung areas of the province are still waiting for help from the government and welfare groups as they suffer the aftermath of the devastating floods. This is the second cholera outbreak in Zhob in a month. The spread of cholera had earlier threatened the people who continued to deal with the aftermath of rains and floods. In the earlier outbreak, last month, around a dozen people lost their lives while hundreds were affected. Health authorities had said that over 2,000 cases of cholera were reported in the Zhob district and a majority of the patients were women and children. Balochistan in particular has seen uncharacteristically heavy rains during the monsoon season this year. On Saturday, six more people were killed due to heavy rains and floods in Balochistan, bringing the total tally of dead to 176. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said 176 people have been reported dead amid the heavy rains and floods in the province. The total includes 77 men, 44 women and 55 children, local media reported. Deaths were reported in Bolan, Quetta, Zhob, Dakki, Khuzdar, Kohlu, Kech, Mastoong, Harnai, Qila Saifullah and Sibbi. The authorities said more than 18,000 homes were damaged or demolished due to the floods in the province. Tube wells, solar panels and other forms of communication are severely damaged due to the rains. Disastrous spells of monsoon rains have led to severe damage on six different highways with 670 km length and 16 bridges, PDMA said. Additionally, 1,98,461 acres of crops were destroyed amid the natural disaster. "Balochistan recorded more than 600 per cent above-normal rainfall during these monsoon spells since mid-June while Sindh received 500 per cent more rain. Major cities are being warned against urban flooding, prolonged electricity outages, and flash floods," Pakistan federal minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman had said earlier. Rehman said that the effects of climate change continue to exacerbate in the country as it experienced lengthy heat waves and forest fires.   Source: ANI

According to European Foundation for South Asian Studies, Pakistan in general, and the province of Balochistan in particular, has been no stranger to demands by vast sections of its population for basic rights that have either been denied to them or snatched away from them. Too often for comfort, these demands have been staked through violent protests involving senseless loss of lives. Over the past month, however, a mass movement by the residents of Gwadar, the Pakistani port city that is a major hub of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), demonstrated how peaceful protest rallies by tens of thousands of wronged men, women and children could achieve so much more than resorting to violence could. Balochistan is very important to both Pakistan and China because of its strategic position, natural resources and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which ends in Gwadar and provides China access to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. On the other hand, the second half of November Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman Baloch, a leader of a native fishing tribe, has been leading the largely local Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek and staging massive rallies and sit-ins in various parts of the province’s Makran division to press for the demands of Gwadar’s residents who number about one hundred thousand. Meanwhile, traders and businesspeople also joined the movement and complete shut-down strikes and blocking of national highways connecting Gwadar with the economic hub of Karachi complemented the rallies and sit-ins. Also, the main demands of the movement included a ban on illegal trawling in the Arabian Sea, including massive Chinese fishing operations.. The protestors also demanded the removal of checkpoints erected for the security of Chinese nationals involved in CPEC projects and called for the provision of basic amenities like drinking water, health, education, and employment opportunities that have long been denied in Gwadar despite the billions of dollars that have been pumped into the Gwadar port and other related projects under the CPEC. How the situation in Gwadar will play out and what implications that will have on the CPEC will be known in times to come, but what is already amply clear and what the Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek has proved fairly comprehensively is that peaceful protest is still a potent tool, and that in Gwadar and other similarly suppressed places, lasting success and progress can only be achieved through taking the local population along, according to European Foundation for South Asian Studies. Source : Islam khabar

Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL), a Pakistani natural gas supplier company now suspended gas supply to all the compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across Sindh and Balochistan from 8 am. on Dec 1 till Feb 15, according to media reports. Local media reported that The Karachi-based natural gas Supply Company may cause trouble for people of these two Pak provinces. Dawn News reported that the government has approved a load management plan to make gas available to domestic and commercial customers on top priority basis during winter season. The SSGCL, in a statement, said due to winter spike the gas supply to all captive power plants (CPPS) of non-export industrial units was discontinued last Friday till further orders. Nonetheless, all general industries, zero-rated export industries with its CPPs and fertilizer sector will continue to get the gas facilities, the Pakistani newspaper reported. Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) leader Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha in a statement said the SSGCL did not consult stakeholders before deciding to close the CNG stations for 2.5 months. He told that it was unfair to shut down Sindh's CNG sector, which is paying the highest price of $15 per unit for liquefied natural gas (LNG), while on the other hand, the sectors which are paying just $2-6 per unit are being promoted. “The CNG sector is not only ensuring a cut in the oil import bill but also helping to reduce urban pollution as compared to other fuels. This environment-friendly fuel facilitates transportation to the poor, but it is subjected to frequent tariff and tax hikes,” Paracha was quoted as saying by the Dawn. Source: India Blooms