May 21, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18,1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 20: President Gen Pervez Musharraf will preside over a meeting to review and settle the electricity tariff and other issues between Wapda and the AJK government on May 27.

The issues have blocked signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Mangla dam raising project.

AJK President Maj-Gen (retd) Mohammad Anwar Khan, Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Water and Power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and Wapda Chairman Lt-Gen Zulfikar Ali Khan will attend the meeting.

Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was also expected to attend the meeting as head of the federal government which was a guarantor in the agreement with the AJK government, the sources said.

Earlier, the meeting was fixed for May 20 but it had to be postponed due to president’s other pressing engagements.

The AJK government has been agitating against Wapda for charging tariff on the basis of bulk electricity supply to the state and deduction of its bill at-source from the AJK Council funds.

A meeting presided over by President Musharraf in Sept last year had settled the matter but Wapda continued to charge Rs4.20 per H/K as against the calculation of Rs2.32 per H/K as was being charged from other provinces of the country.

Talking to Dawn, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan said that the AJK government was not demanding more than what was its right.

He said that under the 1967 Mangla Accord the AJK was to be treated on a par with other provinces of the country.

He said a high-powered committee, headed by former Interior Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Moinuddin Haider and constituted by President Pervez Musharraf, had fixed power tariff at Rs2.32 per H.K but Wapda was not ready to abide by the said decision.