Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced that those using up to 500 units of electricity in Punjab will receive a relief of 14 rupees per unit.
During a press conference in Lahore, he mentioned that he is aware of the suffering people are experiencing due to inflation, particularly the burden of expensive electricity bills. He recalled how he had addressed this issue on October 21st during his speech at Minar-e-Pakistan, where he compared electricity bills from his tenure with the current situation.
He expressed that he feels the people’s pain, often reflecting on 2017, a time when inflation was non-existent by the grace of God.
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Sharif explained that at that time, electricity bills were lower, incomes exceeded expenses, people lived comfortably, children attended school, and electricity bills were manageable. He reminisced about visiting the vegetable market in Islamabad soon after becoming Prime Minister in 2013, where vegetables were sold for just 10 rupees per kilogram. This was when Pakistan was on the brink of default, but the government stabilized the economy and placed the country among the best-performing nations. He added that the dollar was brought down to 95 rupees, and then with Ishaq Dar’s consultation, they kept it at 104 rupees for four years until he was ousted.
Sharif accused certain judges of removing him from office because he did not take a 10,000 dirham salary from his son Hassan Nawaz. He questioned whether a Prime Minister could be removed over such an issue and criticized the situation that led to the dollar rising from 104 to 250 rupees.
He claimed that those who have brought the country to this state have committed a grave injustice. Since Maryam Nawaz became Chief Minister and Shehbaz Sharif became Prime Minister, he has been urging them to end the inflationary storm, which was not of their making but began during Imran Khan’s tenure. He reminded that during his government, the IMF was bid farewell, and it was said that Pakistan would no longer need the IMF. He questioned who brought the IMF back and emphasized that it was not him or Shehbaz Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif asserted that if he had left the dollar at 104, it would still be at that rate today if he had been allowed to serve further. He pointed out that vegetables and electricity would not have become so expensive, as his government eliminated load shedding and set up new power plants in record time with China’s cooperation. He mentioned that those who now receive bills of 18,000 rupees only paid 1,600 rupees in 2017. He praised Maryam Nawaz for reducing flour prices, which in turn lowered the cost of bread.
He stated that Maryam is focused on improving sanitation and equal development, providing facilities for people to build homes under easy conditions. He asked who raised bank interest rates to 22%, questioning who would invest in the country under such circumstances.
Sharif emphasized that his government paid off foreign loans and built motorways using domestic resources, not through borrowing. He lamented that if the development process that began in 1991 had continued, Pakistan would have been a great nation today. He believed that if his government had not been ousted in 2017 through a conspiracy, the country would have reached new heights.
Sharif said that he has no desire for power but is heartbroken over what has happened to the country. He urged people not to be deceived by those responsible for increasing electricity bills from 1,600 to 18,000 rupees.
He acknowledged that Shehbaz Sharif recently provided substantial relief to those consuming up to 200 units of electricity, amounting to billions of rupees. Similarly, Maryam Nawaz has decided to provide relief during the summer months by preparing a relief package for August and September. The package will reduce electricity bills by 14 rupees per unit for those consuming up to 500 units.
Sharif praised Maryam Nawaz for planning to introduce a solar panel scheme to further reduce electricity bills, with a budget of 700 billion rupees. He noted that 45 billion rupees will be spent on providing relief in electricity bills, which will help reduce expenses for the public.
Finally, he encouraged Shehbaz Sharif to support the solar panel initiative through the Punjab government and urged other provinces to provide similar relief to their people.
