By Our Correspondent
LAHORE: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Lahore Chapter has come out strongly against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) for serving nearly Rs 72 billion in backdated bills to industries in Lahore. The demand, citing adjustments in Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) prices from April 2015 to June 2022, is based on a March 2025 notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
Terming the move a disastrous precedent, PBF Lahore Chapter President Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer while chairing a meeting declared that this was not an issue of consumer default but rather a glaring failure of governance and regulation. He noted that OGRA had failed for seven years to discharge its statutory duty of notifying gas prices, and now industries were being penalized for the regulator’s negligence. He stressed that such a retroactive and unprecedented burden could not be justified under any circumstances, particularly at a time when industries were already struggling to survive.
The meeting was also attended by the Patron in Chief Riaz ul Hassan, Secretary Mahmood Malik, Senior Vice President Mian Abdul Hannan and Chief Organizer Muaaz Qazi.
The Forum argued that retrospective billing on this scale was unconstitutional, violating fundamental rights of industrial consumers, including the right to livelihood, freedom of trade, and protection of property. It emphasized that under Article 77 of the Constitution, no financial burden could be imposed without explicit approval of Parliament, making the action legally untenable.
To safeguard industrial consumers, the PBF announced that it will approach the Supreme Court and the High Court of Pakistan with a constitutional petition challenging what it described as an “illegal and unconstitutional” act by OGRA and SNGPL. The petition, once filed, will also name the Federation of Pakistan, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) as respondents, urging the judiciary to intervene immediately to avert a looming financial crisis for industries.
The Forum also pointed to the deeper roots of the crisis, citing flawed state contracts such as the Qatar LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) and fixed-capacity charges linked to Engro and PGPC terminals. Coupled with years of regulatory inertia, these arrangements had unfairly shifted the burden onto industries. “Industry cannot be treated as an insurance policy for state mismanagement. Forcing the productive sectors of the economy to absorb the cost of policy failures is unjust and unsustainable,” Tanveer remarked.
PBF demanded immediate withdrawal of all retrospective bills and called for an independent, high-level audit of LNG agreements and regulatory practices. The Forum warned that failure to take corrective measures would undermine business confidence, cripple local industries, and shut the door on vital foreign investment.
To press its case, PBF announced a comprehensive campaign against the inflated bills. This would involve mobilizing parliamentary bodies such as the Public Accounts Committee and Energy Committees, alongside efforts to secure a parliamentary resolution banning retrospective adjustments permanently. The Forum also revealed plans to work with provincial governments, particularly Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to escalate the issue at the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and obtain supportive resolutions from provincial assemblies.
Reaffirming its resolve to protect the rights of industries, the Forum cautioned that unless urgent steps were taken to resolve the crisis, Pakistan’s economy would slide further into instability.
