LAHORE – The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Lahore Chapter has criticised Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) for serving Rs 72 billion retrospective gas 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).
PBF Lahore Chapter President Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer said that this was not an issue of consumer default but rather a glaring failure of governance and regulation. He accused OGRA of failing to discharge its statutory duty of notifying gas prices and penalising industries for its negligence. He said that an unprecedented burden could not be justified under any circumstances.
The PBF argued that retrospective billing on this scale was unconstitutional, as it violated the fundamental rights of industrial consumers, including the right to a livelihood, freedom of trade, and protection of property.
The PBF announced that it will approach the Apex Court and the High Court with a constitutional petition challenging what it described as an “illegal and unconstitutional” act by OGRA and SNGPL.
The Forum also highlighted 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,” Ejaz Tanveer said.
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.
Reaffirming its commitment to protecting the rights of industries, the Forum cautioned that unless urgent steps were taken to resolve the crisis, Pakistan’s economy would continue to slide further into instability.
