Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday stressed the coalition government’s is committed to reducing electricity bills, cautioning stakeholders against politicizing the issue even as demonstrations against hefty hikes to power bills continue nationwide.
Chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad, he maintained that “playing politics” on electricity bills was akin to insulting the public. “We do not believe in politics for the sake of politics,” he claimed, in an apparent reference to an ongoing Rawalpindi sit-in organized by the Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as smaller protests led by traders, other opposition parties and the general public.
The common call of all the demonstrators is a reduction in electricity bills, either through withdrawal of taxes or cuts to the capacity payments due to independent power producers. In a bid to dampen the unrest, Sharif last month announced a Rs. 50 billion subsidy on power bills of consumers utilizing up to 200 units of electricity for the months of July-September. Referring to this initiative, the prime minister said it reflected the government’s concern for the general public.
During the cabinet meeting, Sharif acknowledged the difficulties of the salaried class, which saw significant hikes to its income taxes in the budget for fiscal year 2024-25. He said the government was also aware of the issues facing industries due to the electricity prices and had reduced their per unit cost by Rs. 8.5.
While defending some taxes as “legitimate,” he admitted it was punishing to continue imposing more burden on people already bearing the brunt of the current economic turmoil.
During his speech, the prime minister also addressed the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, noting the government had declared today (Friday) a national day of mourning and would continue to provide aid to Palestinians suffering atrocities at the hands of Israel.
He also announced he had formally written a letter to the Chinese government requesting debt re-profiling for Pakistan, ostensibly to fulfill prior conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).