Minister Blames Iran Border Closure for LPG Price Surge, Promises Sea-Route Imports in National Assembly
In the House: Debate on a calling-attention notice in the National Assembly on Monday, 26 October
The minister’s case: The Pakistan-Iran border closure is a main reason for the LPG price surge; imports by sea are being arranged
The official rate: OGRA’s notified price is Rs280 per kg, against complaints of Rs700 to Rs800 per kg in remote and northern areas
The question that has been hanging over kitchens across Pakistan for days reached the floor of the National Assembly in Islamabad on Monday: why has liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) become so expensive, and why is it not selling at the official rate? Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik told the House that the closure of the Pakistan-Iran border was one of the main reasons for the surge, and that the government was now trying to bring fuel in by sea.
The calling-attention notice was moved jointly by Aliya Kamran, Shahida Begum and Naeema Kishwar Khan, who described the LPG price increase as a matter of urgent public importance. Kamran told the House that in remote and northern areas LPG was selling at Rs700 to Rs800 per kilogram, against the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) rate of Rs280 per kilogram. Naeema Kishwar asked why trade with Iran through the border had been suspended at all.
What the minister said about supply
Malik told members that 50 to 60 per cent of Pakistan’s LPG used to come from Iran, with the rest met from Qatar. The Qatar LNG supply, he said, had been suspended because of the United States-Iran war, and Saudi Aramco prices had risen to $705 per tonne. The government, he added, was reviewing the whole system and working on a policy to secure gas from other sources abroad.
Reports of the sitting add two further promises. A new LPG policy could be announced within one to two days, with subsidised fuel for vulnerable households while keeping the market competitive, and the prime minister has held two to three meetings on LPG prices. That matters because, as the minister himself conceded, LPG is not sold at the government rate even when supply is in surplus — a gap consumers have felt most sharply in the far north and in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Business Recorder reported rates reaching Rs700 per kg.
Why the pressure bites before winter
LPG is the main cooking fuel in areas beyond the piped-gas network, and its consumption rises in winter. When Iranian supply stopped and Qatari LNG was disrupted at the same time, shortage and profiteering fed each other. The minister said the government would work with OGRA and the provincial governments against artificial shortages and overcharging, and noted that local gas was being supplied to domestic consumers for eight hours around breakfast and meal times.
The test now is speed: whether sea-route cargo and the promised policy can pull market prices back toward the official rate before winter demand peaks. Parliament has been given an explanation and a plan; households will judge both by the price of the next cylinder.
