MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar has claimed that a relief mechanism related to the electricity and agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs) were in the offing. “Whether the government conveyed it or not, my reliable reports say that Inshallah,” he said while speaking about relief on the electricity bills.
Sattar was on Rubaroo which was aired on Aaj News on Friday. He was part of the show that centred on discussing the PTI rally that was cancelled at the eleventh hour and the differences between leaders and parties. The exorbitant hike in electricity prices and high utility bills has jolted the South Asian country people. Many people have blamed the agreements signed with the IPPs for high rates. “We have convinced PM to form a framework on IPP agreements,” Sattar said before speaking about his information via ‘reliable sources’.
The MQM-P MNA went on to add that the PTI government had also started working on the IPPs when the party came to power, however, it was not part of its “priorities”. He reasoned that dealing with such an issue was like “bearing a burden” and admitted that every government in the past ignored it.
Sattar added that the IPP matter started in the second tenure of the Benazir Bhutto government when there was a shortage of electricity production. But he stated that none of the governments after it resolved it.He mentioned the uncertainty in Pakistan’s politics regarding the rule of parties, saying that no one knows whether he would complete five years or not.
The MQM-P leader called for inclusiveness in politics, like he said former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani used to do despite the fact that the latter only “paid lip service” to the party’s demands. He was of the view that it was not appropriate to ask cabinet members to not speak against the Rs14/unit relief for consumers up to 500 units of electricity in Punjab. “There is a sense of deprivation among people in Pakistan.”
