He maintained that during a recent meeting of the Council for Common Interest (CCI) all the issues pertaining to energy crisis were discussed, wherein gas distribution formula also came under discussion but he or his party never stated that the 18th Amendment would be reviewed.
He, however, said that if a consensus was developing among the federating units on any constitutional matter it would be tabled before the parliament and any change in any clause of the constitution would be made as a set mechanism. At present, about 66 percent of natural gas is being produced in Sindh, 20 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 percent in Balochistan and four per cent in Punjab. Punjab is the largest user of the natural gas accounting for 45 percent, followed by Sindh 30 percent, KPK 15 percent and Balochistan 10 percent.
Under the 18th Amendment of the constitution, provinces have the right of ownership of oil, gas and minerals within their boundaries and the income generated from these resources will be shared with the federal government on an equal basis. The Petroleum Minister''s statement on reviewing the gas distribution formula has been widely condemned by all political parties.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) strongly opposed any change in gas sharing formula, terming the statement of Federal Minister for Natural Resources as a move to deprive smaller provinces of their rights. Senator Colonel Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (Retd) told Business Recorder that all political parties passed 18th Constitutional Amendment with consensus and sufficient provincial autonomy was given to the provinces under the amendment, "which will not be allowed to be hijacked."
"We will not support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government if it ever wants to bring any amendment in Articles 158 and 172 about mineral oil and natural gas," he said. Likewise, Pakistan People''s Party (PPP) has also taken strong exception to the remarks of Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and has decided to requisition the Senate session to take up the issue after Eid.
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Provincial Minister for Revenue Ali Amin Khan Gandapur categorically said that any attempt to clamp the powers of the provinces by federal government would be resisted tooth and nail, adding such an attempt on part of PML-N is tantamount to usurping the rights of provinces. "We''ll not allow them [PML-N] if it is against the rights of our province. The chief minister will take up the matter with him [Khaqan Abbasi] as to why his party is planning to review this particular prevision of gas sharing which deprives the smaller provinces of their rights", he maintained.
Meanwhile, Dr Shireen Mazari, PTI central information secretary said the PMLN was part of the 18th Amendment discussions and final agreement. At the time they accepted the strengthening of the provinces'' control over their natural resources but it seems they were merely playing politics rather than sharing a conviction that power needed to devolve to the provinces. Their interest was to get the restriction on how many terms one person could serve as PM. The statement by the Federal Minister for Petroleum, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was a direct assault of the natural resources of the other provinces, especially gas, Dr Mazari added. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief, who is in alliance with the ruling PML-N though not yet in the cabinet, aligned himself with opposition parties on this issue and vowed to resist any government move to amend the constitution.