PPP asks caretaker govt to contact IMF for immediate relief for electricity consumers

The Pakistan Peoples Party, while terming the sudden increase in the electricity tariff as the biggest issue in the country, has urged the incumbent caretaker government to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund to provide immediate relief to the people in this regard.

The demand to this effect was made by former Sindh ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon and Syed Nasir Hussain Shah at a press conference at the media cell of the Bilawal House on Wednesday.

Memon said the PPP, whether in power or in opposition, had always raised its voice for providing due relief to the people against a hike in the prices of essential products and services.

He urged that in addition to extending relief to the people, the caretaker government should take cognisance of the issue of inflated power bills sent to the people. He told the media persons that the past regimes of the PPP had taken steps to initiate projects for the production of electricity through the indigenous energy sources of wind, solar, Thar coal, and natural gas.

The former provincial information minister said the Thar coal had emerged as the cheapest source of electricity production in the country. He said the present governmentwas under the obligation of providing relief to the underprivileged people badly hit by unprecedented inflation.

He said the previous regime of the PPP in Sindh had introduced projects of providing solar home systems to 200,000 families, free-of-charge healthcare facilities and people’s bus service for the residents of urban areas.

He lamented that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had unduly moved the court to obtain a stay order against the plan of the PPP’s previous Sindh government to provide jobs to the unemployed youth of the province.

Memon appealed to the caretaker Sindh government to ensure the completion of the under-construction development projects in the province. He said it would be a grave injustice if the caretaker administration resorted to halting the under-construction development projects whose budget had been duly passed by the Sindh Assembly. He told media persons that many of such under-construction projects were aimed at providing relief to the flood-hit people.

He complained that the construction of a drainage-related project had been halted in his constituency to the utter dismay of the people.