- Claims govt to come up with solution within next 48 hours to provide relief to public
- Clarifies armed forces not using a single free unit of electricity, usage by Wapda employees to be rationalised
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday said the matter of inflated electricity bills is being discussed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government has given proposals to the fund, saying the government would “fulfill its obligations towards the global lender at all costs”.
“We will not make false promises nor would we deviate from our responsibilities. We will let everyone know the measures we cannot take and why,” Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said while speaking to senior journalists and anchorpersons in Islamabad.
The caretaker premier said the consumers will have to pay the electricity bills.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar talking to Anchors and Journalists in a meeting held at the Prime Minister's House. pic.twitter.com/Tokga1Jp7E
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) August 31, 2023
The statement came days after the IMF refused to immediately approve Pakistan’s request for recovering August’s electricity bills over a period of six months amid raging protests in many parts of the country that continued against back-breaking bills.
So far, the caretaker government has failed to come up with any solution. It is trying to avoid breaching the conditions of the IMF programme that require keeping the overall circular debt at Rs2.310 trillion and timely passing on the increase in electricity prices on account of annual, quarterly and monthly adjustments.
PM Kakar said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will give the final date for holding the elections and the interim setup would conclude following the elections.
The interim prime minister acknowledged being informed recently about protests concerning inflated electricity bills.
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He said that the interim setup does not have any “hidden agenda, plans or ambitions”. “It is not like some oppressive rulers have come to power and were draining the resources of the impoverished,” he added.
‘Govt to come up with solution in 48 hours’
PM Kakar said that the government has minutely looked into the problem of inflated electricity bills and would come up with a solution within next 48 hours, adding that the authorities were considering various options to provide relief to the people.
To a question, he clarified that the Pakistan army, navy and air force were not using a single free unit of electricity and their bills were paid from the allocated financial budget. While employees of WAPDA were using free electricity units and their usage would be rationalised, especially of the higher grade officers as some of them were getting huge quantity of free electricity, he added.
Over the years, he said, the generation and transmission system of electricity remained flawed and the government had to deal with serious issues of line losses, power theft, high circular debt, use of expensive imported fuel and capacity payments to electricity companies.
“These issues cannot be ignored by just closing eyes. We need to diagnose treatment for the disease.”
He made it clear that the government would fulfil its agreements with the international financial institutions. He lamented that the country was faced with economic stagnation and there was less investment in sectors like manufacturing, real estate and stock exchange, and the trend was to only take up profit from certain businesses.
He said that the caretaker government was formed for the continuity of constitutional order, and was dealing with economic and security challenges.
The premier also talked about the challenges the country faced in the 1990s when electricity shortages emerged, adding that the governments at that time engaged with independent power producers (IPPs) to augment power generation.
“However, we failed to anticipate the consequences of these agreements, including pay surcharge,” he remarked. He also highlighted issues within the transmission systems and the billing retrieval process.
The prime minister said that Pakistan had security concerns on its Western borders. He stressed that no terrorist organisation had the capacity to overtake any territory in Pakistan but they could sabotage and create terror.
“Pakistan was in capable hands and every sacrifice would be rendered to defend every inch of the country’s territory and steps would be taken for elimination of terrorism,” he remarked.
The prime minister said that the government was determined to hold transparent, free and fair elections and transfer power to the next elected government.
He said that recently formed Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) had huge potential to attract investment in sectors of information technology, defence production, mining and agriculture, and Pakistan had a bright future due to such initiatives.
On Wednesday, Interim Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, in her first public appearance after assuming the responsibility, had candidly told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that the government’s coffers were empty and, therefore, no one should pin any hope for subsidies.
She warned of further increase in power and fuel prices in relation to higher prices in the global markets and lack of availability of any fiscal space for subsidies, said there was no choice but to stick to the IMF programme.
“Pakistan is an import dependent country and the commodity prices have to be passed on, as we do not have the fiscal space and any room for subsidies, which is going to hurt people – whether in the shape of electricity or fuel prices,” said Dr Shamshad in her policy statement.
Meanwhile, protests and demonstrations against rising inflation were held across the country today, with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) calling a shutterdown strike on September 2.
The JI has announced that the party will be approaching the Supreme Court to seek judicial assistance over rising electricity costs while the incumbent government burdens the public with conditions imposed by the IMF.
In various cities across the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Gujar Khan, Okara, Murree, Vihari, Chistian, Multan, Haveli Lakha, DG Khan, Swabi, Mardan and others, protests were held on the call of traders associations.
