Pakistan to import coal from Afghanistan to curb energy crisis: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the government has decided to import coal from Afghanistan to counter the energy crisis in the country and the LNG shortage worldwide. 

PM Shehbaz Sharif addresses the Turnaround Pakistan conference and said that the Finance Minister has confirmed that the IMF’s economic relief package of Rs2 billion will be sanctioned soon. Our priority goal is self-sufficiency, he added.

The PM added that treasures worth billions of dollars are buried in Rikodiq, but we have not been able to benefit from it. In fact, we have wasted millions in cases regarding Rikodiq, he added.

Shehbaz Shareef added that other parties criticised them when they did long-term LNG contracts. But, the PTI government did not do any long-term contracts causing a shortfall of gas in the country, he added.

The PM said that Iran had completed the transmission of the Pak-Iran pipeline to the Bolan border but the PTI government could not complete the project. Bolan border is just 26 km from Gawadar, he added.

He added that only more promises but no progress has been made in the past 73 years. We will have to leave personal benefit and think about national interest to progress, he added.

The PM said that an additional tax of Rs230 billion would be collected by the super tax imposed by the government. The tax would not be added to the current expenditure but would be spent on the development and economic progress of Pakistan.

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The PM said that they have decided to import coal from Afghanistan. The amount would be transitioned to Afghanistan in Pakistani currency.