Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the Senate on Friday that the proposed relocation of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) headquarters from Karachi to Islamabad is an operational and administrative matter meant to improve efficiency and cut unnecessary spending.
He was responding to a Calling Attention Notice moved by Senators Syed Waqar Mehdi and Zamir Hussain Ghumro. The minister rejected the suggestion that the idea was shaped by regional or provincial politics, saying the matter was being weighed on technical and operational grounds.
Why the government frames the move as operational
Talal Chaudhry said PPL’s board had repeatedly pointed to the need to leave the present headquarters building because of its condition. In his account, the proposal is a management and efficiency question rather than a contest between provinces.
He argued that the company’s board and management should be free to decide on operational requirements instead of reading the issue through a provincial or regional lens. Keeping administrative arrangements at two places, he said, would raise costs and ultimately put an unnecessary financial burden on the public.
How many staff would be affected
According to the minister, around 77 per cent of PPL employees are based at field locations and other offices and would not be touched by the proposed headquarters move. Only about 15 per cent of the workforce is based at the headquarters, he added.
He maintained that the plan was not meant to harm employees or to undermine the interests of any province. On geography, he noted that PPL has substantial assets in Balochistan as well as operations in Sindh, and said the seat of the headquarters should not be fixed by provincial considerations alone.
What the Senate exchange leaves open
The minister described the proposal as purely technical and administrative. The Senate exchange sets out the government’s stated case for considering a PPL headquarters relocation to Islamabad; it does not, on its own, announce a final completed move or a timetable for when staff would shift.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Hakumat ne Senate mein kaha ke PPL ka head office Karachi se Islamabad lanay ka sochna kaam behtar chalane aur kharch kam karne ke liye hai. Wazir ke mutabiq yeh faisla kisi soobay ki tarafdaari nahi. Zyada tar mulazimein field aur doosre daftaron mein hain, is liye un par asar nahi padna chahiye. Do jagah office rakhne se kharcha barhega, jo aakhir mein awam par bhi pad sakta hai.
