Inflated electricity bills: Interim PM Kakar denies downplaying protests

• Interim PM says that he feels sympathy for class that was bearing an immense burden.
• Admits to saying that protests were not a harbinger of civil war of social unrest.
• Appeals to nation to conserve power.

KARACHI: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has denied downplaying the nationwide protest against exorbitant electricity bills saying that he sympathised with those reeling under the unprecedented inflation in the country.

PM Kakar’s remarks came while talking to anchorperson Saleem Safi in Geo News programme ‘Jirga’ on Friday wherein he clarified that his video recording attributing the words “wheel-jam strike” to him was not true.

He added that the video of the 40-minute talk with journalists was available and if he had uttered the words of “wheel or jam or strike”, he was ready to pay any amount of fine to those who were protesting.

People across Pakistan have been protesting for the last eight days by setting electricity bills on fire, blocking major causeways and surrounding power distributors’ offices demanding that the government to withdraw the hike in the tariffs and remove additional taxes.

As regards the protest, Kakar said what he did say that the protests were not dangerous and they were not a harbinger of civil war of social unrest in the country. He added that he felt sympathy for the class that was bearing an immense burden.

When asked why his government was seemingly not taking any action and was only holding meetings on a daily basis, the caretaker PM said that this problem is multidimensional. He said the initial meetings that he held after taking over office were about two things – power tariff and taxation. These were the two sectors that he considered to be his top priorities.

Kakar explained that the issue of power tariff was linked with the conditionalities of multilateral financial institutions. He said he had just passed 13 to 14 days in office focusing on short-term, mid-term and long-term solutions to taxation issues.

“I am trying again and again not to make the final announcement about the issue,” the PM said, adding that the entire finance and power teams were looking into the nitty-gritty of the issue so as to make suggestions for such a short-term solution in a manner that the government did not have to withdraw decisions later.

When asked why the government could not shut the markets and shopping malls by sunset, Kakar said the only obstacle was that they had to take a joint decision with the provinces.

He said his government wanted to do it and would soon announce a plan for energy conservation. He also appealed to the nation to conserve power.