ISLAMABAD, May 9: The government on Wednesday defended in the Senate the recent 10 per cent increase in electricity tariff and claimed that it was a result of the 90 per cent increase in prices of petroleum products and 55 per cent increase in gas tariffs.
It agreed to a full-fledged debate on the issue on adjournment motions submitted by opposition lawmakers.
Speaking on motions moved by Prof. Khurshid Ahmed and Kamran Murtaza, Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi said that while the government had increased the tariff only once in four years since 2003, previous governments had increased it 19 times between 1988 and 1999.
Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement’s Raza Muhammad Khan Raza created quite a furore in the house by interrupting the minister to ask “Where are your tall claims of ridding the country of loadshedding and promises of providing electricity to thousands of new villages while the country has been plunged into darkness".
Despite attempts by Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali to cool him down, the lawmaker continued: “You have nothing to say about what progress the government has made in providing cheap and enough electricity to the common consumer”.
The minister was also criticised by the opposition for going into minute details of his ministry’s performance instead of giving a brief statement against admissibility of the adjournment motions.
The minister said the government was not aware of the problem of electricity shortage and was taking all necessary steps to increase production keeping in view the projected 10 per cent per annum increase in consumption.
He said that apart from a recent agreement signed with Iran for the purchase of 1000MW, the government was also working with Tajikistan to buy electricity at cheap rates, besides involving the private sector in increasing production.
He informed the house that the government had opposed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s recommendation to increase the electricity tariff by 33 per cent and opted for only 10 per cent increase and said that it was paying about Rs98 billion as subsidy.He said the government was providing Rs15 billion to the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) to offset the effects of the increase in electricity tariff.
Pakistan Muslim League’s Allama Abbas Kumaili pointed out the dangers of religious extremism, and said the entire country, including in the federal capital, was facing the threat while Taliban’s brand of Islam was being enforced in settled areas of the NWFP.
Mr Raza criticised the Ministry of Labour and Overseas Pakistanis for failing to do something about the body of a Pakistani lying in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi government was refusing to hand it over to the relatives.
Leader of the opposition Mian Raza Rabbani drew the attention of the house to a token hunger strike staged by Senator Enver Baig outside parliament to protest against the running of the Pakistan Cricket Board without a constitution.
He said that the successive ad hoc chairmen of the board had assured the house committee on sports that the constitution of the cricket body would be enforced soon but all such promises were not fulfilled and adhocism was continuing.
Mr Rabbani mourned the death of PPP leader Syed Qamar Abbas who was brutally murdered in Peshawar a couple of days ago.
He also condemned the sealing of the office of president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Munir Ahmed Malik, in Karachi and termed it a cheap tactic to browbeat the opposition.
The house agreed on the bifurcation of an adjournment motion on the performance of Wapda and KESC causing high electricity tariffs and countrywide loadshedding.
