Pakistan and Qatar have signed a long-term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply deal for additional 200 million cubic feet a day (MMCFD), reported Dawn. The rate in this deal is believed to be 31 percent lower than what was negotiated in the 2015 deal for 500 MMCFD.

The price is the lowest ever price negotiated for the LNG, Nadeem Babar, the special assistant to the prime minister on petroleum, was quoted as saying by Dawn. The country’s military, as well as political leadership both, have played a significant role in materializing the deal, he claimed.

The Imran Khan-led government had been trying to renegotiate the deal since 2018, claiming the earlier deal negotiated under the PML-N led government didn’t fetch a fair price. 

Earlier reports suggested Qatari authorities had for long denied giving such huge concessions on the price. The new deal would replace two existing contracts that are nearing their expiry dates. The new deal would come into effect from January next year. The deal also has the option of renegotiating the price after every four years.