- Premier’s aide says PM would announce a major relief package which would ‘thwart Pakistan’s default plot’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will take distinguished businessmen into confidence over the proposed power sector reforms as the federal government is set to announce a “major relief package” on Thursday (tomorrow), according to social media posts by high-ranking officials.
Former caretaker minister for industries and commerce Gohar Ejaz will lead the businessmen delegation that will meet the prime minister.
A major cut is expected in power tariff during the prime minister’s meeting with businessmen, while a breakthrough is also likely over exports and other economic issues in the meeting.
The meeting has been scheduled at 2pm at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, according to the government authorities.
Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday posted on its official X account that “great news for the entire nation” would be unveiled Thursday (tomorrow), without providing any details about the announcement itself. The post bore the hashtag ‘Small Eid, Big Gift’, referring to Eidul Fitr.
Meanwhile, the ruling PML-N posted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would make an important announcement tomorrow, while a separate post said that he would be giving “a big gift from the federal government to the people”.
However, Rana Sanaullah, the premier’s aide, wrote on X that the PM would announce a major relief package tomorrow which would “thwart Pakistan’s default plot”.
“Stock market rally, remittances rise, and inflation fall—tomorrow the propaganda of despair will end!” the PM’s adviser maintained.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also posted about tomorrow’s announcement, calling it “good news … which will be the fruit of the hard work and the result of Allah’s grace since 2022”.
He did not specify what was being announced.
He added, “This journey of development, progress and economic revival will continue.”
On March 26, PM Shehbaz’s team unlocked the new $1.3 billion arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), along with a successful first review of the ongoing 37-month bailout programme.
The IMF disclosed in March that it had allowed only a Re1 per unit reduction in power tariff against a grid levy imposed on industrial captive power plants.
“The programme allows some explicit tariff differential subsidy and revenue from CPP (captive power plants) firms can be used for reducing Rs1 per kWh (kilowatt-hour) electricity price.
“The benefit of the reduction in the prices will go to everyone,” IMF Resident Representative in Islamabad Mahir Binici told journalists.
The move is part of a broader relief package the government is working on for electricity users.
According to official sources, the reduction could lessen the financial burden on consumers by up to Rs100 billion.
