“Perpetual bickering”, other reasons may result in Tabish Gauhar losing the SAPM on Petroleum portfolio: sources
Waheed Ahmad Shaikh, ex-CEO of HASCOL, is actively being considered for SAPM on Petroleum post.
Gauhar will continue to perform his functions as SAPM on Power, say sources.
ISLAMABAD: The government may take back the charge of SAPM on Petroleum from Tabish Gauhar, as per a report in The News, citing his “perpetual bickering” with some powerful ministers and his opposition to the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project as the main reasons.
The name of Waheed Ahmad Shaikh, ex-CEO of HASCOL, is actively being considered for SAPM on Petroleum.
The report said that the decision-makers within the PTI government are mulling to squeeze Gauhar’s role to SAPM on Power only and that in the near future, he will have no role in the petroleum sector.
Citing top officials, cabinet members and those close to Gauhar, the report said the portfolio may be taken back from the SAPM due to various reasons such as his opposition to the PSGP project, his support for the North-South Pipeline with the help of gas local gas companies and “perpetual bickering with some mighty federal ministers” that are backed by the local petroleum players.
The report said that while one portfolio will be taken from Gauhar, he will continue to play his role as the SAPM on Power.
The premier’s special assistant had a few weeks ago limited himself to an advisory role and had not been attending official meetings at the operational level.
“Some influential cabinet ministers developed rifts with Tabish Gauhar also on the development of new LNG terminals,” reads the report.
The report stated that some ministers had managed to launch an inquiry headed by Railways Minister Azam Swati into the dry docking issue of the LNG terminal.
The dry docking had caused the country to face massive gas load shedding from June 29 to July 5.
Irked by the inquiry, Tabish Gauhar and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar met with the prime minister and complained to him about the “undue interference” in the affairs of the energy sector by some ministers.
After the meeting, the inquiry did not proceed ahead and Hammad Azhar and Gauhar, who had not attended the CCoE meetings for a while, started doing so.
The publication further said that Tabish Gauhar also came on the radar of certain “powerful circles” when he wrote a letter to Hammad Azhar on July 23 with the subject ‘Beyond the firefighting – Proposed Strategic Workstreams in the Energy Sector’.
In the letter, Gauhar, being a technocrat, advised the government to build the North-South Gas Pipeline with the GIDC (gas infrastructure development cess) amount through local gas companies.
Sources close to the SAPM said that his stance on the PSPG project mentioned in the letter to the energy minister had also attracted pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office and powerful circles.
They also say Tabish is of the view that he is supposed to give his best advice being a technocrat, not as a strategist and political entity.