Jazz sends Rs10b defamation notice to SNGPL

ISLAMABAD: Jazz has issued a Rs10 billion defamation notice to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) following accusations that the private mobile phone company was operating generators in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, using gas stolen from the main pipeline.

In response, Jazz vehemently denied the allegations and has decided to take legal action against SNGPL.

According to a Jazz spokesperson, there is no merit to SNGPL’s claims against the mobile phone company, and such unfounded accusations can erode the investors’ trust.

The spokesperson clarified that Jazz currently operates over 15,000 towers across the country, all of which rely on diesel generators for backup power. “Not a single tower has a generator powered by gas,” the spokesperson said.

Previously, an SNGPL spokesperson had stated that the international mobile phone company had been operating generators in Karak using gas stolen from the main gas line, leading the company to file an FIR against the theft.

SNGPL Managing Director Amir Tufail had emphasized that action against gas thieves had been accelerated per the federal government’s special directives. Over the past three years, he had said, the SNGPL had registered 813 FIRs against gas thieves, resulting in recoveries of approximately Rs2.5 billion.