Source Dawn
The blockade of route used for transportation of oil from Shakardarra oilfields here continued on the second day on Sunday as the residents refused to end strike till provision of natural gas to their area.
A representative of SNGPL and officers of the district tried to persuade the protesters to end the strike, but they said that they would lift the blockade only when a responsible SNGPL or government official would give them a schedule for work on the gas project.
The elders of Shakardarra, where huge oil and gas reserves were found in 2001, had been setting deadlines for the government and the SNGPL to provide gas to the area according to the relevant law.
They said that former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali had directed the SNGPL in 2004 to provide gas to Shakardarra areas. Later, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti also issued similar orders in 2009 and 2011, which had no been implemented so far, they said.
Imtiaz Qureshi advocate told this correspondent by phone that they had set a five-day deadline for the SNGPL to announce work for provision of gas in villages where it was being produced.
Deputy district revenue officer Shahid Ali and a police officer also visited the place where the people had staged a sit-in to persuade them to open the route.
However, the protesters refused to do so unless they were given assurance of gas provision by a responsible SNGPL or government official.
They said that they were experiencing 20-hour loadshedding daily and the gas facility, which was their constitutional right, had not been provided to the area.
The residents said that they would continue their strike if their genuine demand was not accepted.
The blockade of route used for transportation of oil from Shakardarra oilfields here continued on the second day on Sunday as the residents refused to end strike till provision of natural gas to their area.
A representative of SNGPL and officers of the district tried to persuade the protesters to end the strike, but they said that they would lift the blockade only when a responsible SNGPL or government official would give them a schedule for work on the gas project.
The elders of Shakardarra, where huge oil and gas reserves were found in 2001, had been setting deadlines for the government and the SNGPL to provide gas to the area according to the relevant law.
They said that former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali had directed the SNGPL in 2004 to provide gas to Shakardarra areas. Later, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti also issued similar orders in 2009 and 2011, which had no been implemented so far, they said.
Imtiaz Qureshi advocate told this correspondent by phone that they had set a five-day deadline for the SNGPL to announce work for provision of gas in villages where it was being produced.
Deputy district revenue officer Shahid Ali and a police officer also visited the place where the people had staged a sit-in to persuade them to open the route.
However, the protesters refused to do so unless they were given assurance of gas provision by a responsible SNGPL or government official.
They said that they were experiencing 20-hour loadshedding daily and the gas facility, which was their constitutional right, had not been provided to the area.
The residents said that they would continue their strike if their genuine demand was not accepted.
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