ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Justice (Retd) Nasir-ul Mulk chaired a meeting on Monday to review progress on the implementation of reforms for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The PM emphasized to formulate a strategy for removing bottlenecks and making the FATA merger process seamless.
Late last month Pakistan passed legislation to merge restive tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and end a colonial-era arrangement Frontier Crimes Regulations.
The PM office said in a statement that the Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan, made a detailed presentation on the implementation progress and pointed out various administrative, legal and financial issues that needed immediate attention to ensure smooth transition of the merger process after the passage of the 25th Constitutional Amendment.
The meeting was informed that draft plans for extension of judiciary, policing, prosecution and prisons service in the tribal districts have also been prepared.
Member Federal Board of Revenue briefed the meeting about the tax exemptions and other financial incentives that have been provided to the people of erstwhile FATA and provincially administered tribal areas for the next five years.
Secretary Finance also briefed the meeting about the financial allocations for the development of the region and for ensuring smooth implementation of the merger process.
“The merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a landmark development promising a positive impact on addressing the development lag and bringing a marked improvement in the lives of the people,” the prime minister said.
“He stressed the need to address the important administrative, legal and financial issues in this regard,” the PM’s office statement read.
The prime minister emphasized that the process of transition should be completed swiftly and must provide a sense of security to the people of the erstwhile tribal areas.
Caretaker PM chairs meeting to ensure swift, smooth FATA-KP merger process
Caretaker PM chairs meeting to ensure swift, smooth FATA-KP merger process
Pakistan discovers new oil, gas reserves in push to cut costly imports
- Exploration firm announces modest discovery of 225 barrels of oil, 1.01 MMSCFD of gas per day
- Multiple discoveries together could boost domestic production and reduce reliance on imports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced a modest discovery of new oil and gas reserves in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, state media reported on Friday, amid the country efforts to boost exploration to cut costly imports.
Pakistan faces a widening energy gap due to rising demand and limited domestic output, forcing reliance on costly fuel imports that expose the economy to global price swings. Its petroleum, oil, and lubricants import bill fell 4.39 percent to $9.046 billion in July 2025-January 2026.
The discovery was made at Lumshiwal Formation of Baragzai X-01 exploratory well. During Cased Hole Drill Stem Test (CHDST-04) conducted in the Hangu and Lumshiwal formations, the well produced 225 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 1.01 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas through a 32/64’’ choke at a wellhead flowing pressure of 190 psig.
“Baragzai X-01 (Slant) was spudded on December 30, 2024, as an exploratory well to assess the hydrocarbon potential of multiple formations, including Lockhart, Hangu, Lumshiwal, Samana Suk, Shinawari, Datta and Kingriali.
The well was successfully drilled to a total depth of 5,170 meters into the Kingriali Formation,” the state-run APP news agency reported, citing the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC).
“Based on wireline log evaluations, three earlier cased hole drill stem tests were conducted in the Kingriali, Datta, and Samana Suk plus Shinawari formations, which also resulted in oil and gas discoveries. The latest test over Lumshiwal further confirms the commercial viability and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the block.”
The discovery was made under the Nashpa Exploration License. OGDC has a 65 percent working interest in the license, in partnership with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (30 percent) and Government Holdings Private Limited (5 percent).
“This discovery will strengthen Pakistan’s energy security by enhancing indigenous hydrocarbon production,” the exploration firm said. “It will add to the reserves base of OGDC and its joint venture partners while contributing toward narrowing the country’s energy supply-demand gap.”
Pakistan has reported several oil and gas discoveries recently. Although modest individually, their combined potential could boost domestic production and reduce reliance on imported energy.
In January, a discovery regarding an exploratory well, flowing at the rate of 4,100 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 10.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas, was made in Kohat. In September 2025, Pakistan Petroleum Limited announced a discovery in Attock district, while Mari Energies reported a new gas find in North Waziristan.
Pakistan’s Sindh province dominates gas production with a 62 percent share and contributes 40 percent to oil output, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 41 percent of crude oil production. Punjab produces 18 percent of the nation’s oil, and Balochistan contributes just one percent, according to Topline Securities.
