Hike in power tariff termed drone attack on poor

PESHAWAR: Condemning the increase in electricity tariff, Awami National Party (ANP) has asked the government to take steps for minimizing line losses instead of punishing common citizens.

Through a statement issued here on Friday, ANP provincial president Ameer Haider Hoti said that the Rs4 raise in electricity tariff was tantamount to drone attack on the poor Pakistanis.

The former chief minister said that every sector in Pakistan was facing stagnation as the investors, industrialists, labourers, peasants and the salaried classes have unanimously termed the situation suffocating.

The ANP leader said the country’s economy was on a ventilator as the government had made the country bankrupt in just two months.

The price-hike has made the life of poor people miserable, he said, adding that without taking concerted efforts the economy could not be brought back on the track.

“The rulers should learn the intricacies of governance and stop blaming others for their faults,” he said.

Ameer Haider Hoti said Pakistan can only get rid of the International Monetary Fund when the country has a mechanism of the across-the-board accountability. He said that power sector had incurred billions of losses but the burden has been shifted to the consumers.

Ameer Haider Hoti called for utilizing the technology for reducing the line losses and improving efficiency.