For two months: Punjab to get cheaper electricity by Rs14/unit

LAHORE: Announcing Rs14 per unit relief in electricity bills for August and September for consumers using up to 500 units in Punjab, PMLN President Nawaz Sharif Friday blamed Imran Khan for inflation in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, Nawaz claimed it was the Imran Khan-led government that brought the International Monetary Fund (IMF) back to the country. Flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the three-time prime minister alleged the price-hike started in the PTI government’s tenure though he had bid farewell to the world lending agency for all times.

The PMLN president recalled in 2017 there was no price-hike issue with people living comfortably, adding that he became the premier in 2013 and his government turned the country into one of the world’s best-performing economies. At that time, the world praised the country for its emerging economy, as the PMLN-led government took the USD to Rs95, Nawaz said. “However, the government had to keep the greenback pegged at Rs104 for the next four years owing to exports and some other issues.” The greenback would have remained pegged at Rs104 if he had stayed in power, Nawaz added.

Nawaz said he was evicted from the PM Office because he did not draw a salary from his son, a matter which he called a joke. “Was this a justifiable reason for de-seating an incumbent prime minister?” he asked. The PMLN government, he added, was not behind the current price hike, adding that the world reacted to Pakistan’s growth at that time as the country had rid itself of the IMF hold. “Who brought the IMF back to Pakistan is the same person who is currently speaking from jail,” he added.

Nawaz claimed he put an end to loadshedding before the termination of his five-year term. “We surmounted the power crisis in three years,” he said, adding that the power bill of a common man was Rs1,600 in 2017, which has now surged to Rs18,000 per month. He added that the bank’s interest rate was around 5pc during his tenure; however, it went up to 22pc under the PTI rule.

Patting the shoulder of Maryam, Nawaz praised and thanked her for slashing flour prices when she assumed power in the province. The Punjab government has prepared a relief package by cutting the power tariff by Rs14 per unit for people consuming up to 500 units of electricity, Nawaz said. “The relief will be given in the bills of August and September,” he added.

The PMLN supremo called upon Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other provincial governments to follow suit and also give people relief in electricity bills and take measures for reducing inflation.

Nawaz said the Punjab government would provide relief to people with Rs45 billion spared from different departments’ development projects.

He said relief for people using up to 200 units of electricity was a good step on the part of PM Shehbaz Sharif. He told the media that Rs7 billion would be spent on the solar panel scheme.