• MQM leader says entire country deserves such relief, terms announcement from Nawaz ‘unwarranted’
• Maryam asks Kamal to approach Sindh govt for subsidy, says Punjab govt footing the bill itself
• Jamaat chief tries to claim credit, says relief prompted by their Rawalpindi sit-in

KARACHI: After the PML-N-led Punjab government subsidised electricity for consumers using up to 500 units, its ally in the Centre, the MQM-P, on Saturday kicked up a fuss about the Rs45 billion subsidy, saying the Punjab-centric incentive would give rise to ‘despair’ in other parts of the country.

In a press conference on Friday, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced that the provincial government would provide relief of Rs14 per unit in electricity bills up to 500 units for August and September. The move was largely seen as an attempt to placate PML-N’s vote bank in Punjab.

Taking exception, MQM-P leader Mus­tafa Kamal questioned the announcem­e­­nt made by Nawaz Sharif, calling it ‘un­­warranted’. Instead of the elder Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should have provided relief in power bills for the entire country, he maintained.

According to Mr Kamal, with the kind of inflation the masses had been facing, the federal government should have announced a relief of at least Rs20 per unit for the entire country. “The announcement only for Punjab would only ensure a feeling of despair in other parts of the country,” he said.

The MQM lawmaker demanded uniform power tariffs across the country and also claimed to have a solution to Pakistan’s electricity woes. “…I assure you with all due confidence that we have a solution to this problem and we have shared it with the government,” he claimed.

He said Pakistan’s power generation system had the capacity to produce more than 45,000 megawatts of electricity, but the transmission lines could sustain only 22-25,000MW which needed to be fixed at the earliest.

The reservations aired by the MQM leader in the presser were swiftly responded to by CM Maryam Nawaz through her social media account. The CM rejected the impression that the relief was the federal government’s move and clai­med it was her administration’s decision and the provincial kitty would foot the bill. She even dared the Sindh government of PPP to come up with the same initiative for its people.

“Dear Mustafa Bhai, Punjab has given this relief to its people not for free but it has paid huge amount for this,” she posted on X [formerly Twitter] with a screenshot of Mr Kamal’s presser criticising the Punjab-only relief. “For this, Punjab has paid Rs45 billion from its annual budget. I would be happy if you talk to the Sindh government and it also provides the same relief to its people. Thanks,” the PML-N leader quipped.

JI claims credit

As the move divided coalition partners, the Jamaat-i-Islami claimed Punjab government’s decision materialised due to their party’s lengthy Rawalpindi sit-in.

Addressing a press conference at his party’s headquarters, JI chief Naeemur Rehman also announced “a shutter-down strike” in collaboration with traders on August 28 against the inflated electricity bills and inflation.

“When we called off the [Rawalpindi] sit-in, the Jamaat and the government both agreed on certain terms with commitment from the government that these all terms would be implemented within 45 days,” he said. “…Jamaat sticks to its demands and if they aren’t met, our options are open. We would be in the streets exercising every legal and constitutional right for the relief of a common man.”

“The Sindh budget clocked in at three trillion, with the inclusion of Rs1,885 billion or almost 62 per cent by the federal government. Against this backdrop, the PPP government in Sindh can easily spare a few billion to provide relief to the masses,” said Hafiz Naeem about such relief in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024