ISLAMABAD: Power div­i­s­ion’s circular debt has swollen to Rs1.3 trillion as a result of previous government’s inefficient policies, failure to improve power transmission system, control power sector losses and construct new grid stations, said Federal Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan while addressing National Assem­bly’s session on Friday.

He said that the previous government did not take steps to improve the capacity of power transmission lines across the country and lamented that existing lines don’t have the dispatch capacity above 1,950 MW power.

The previous government had left the economy in precarious situation after it delayed tariff determination and failed to introduce key reforms, he added. The country’s debt had soared Rs29tr in last five years up from Rs15tr. He claimed that pursuing its political ambitions, the previous government put the economy on a negative trajectory.

Members of the opposition parties — PPP, JUI-F — said that PTI led government had failed to introduce any measures to help the poorest segments of the economy in the mini-budget. Some members warned that since the announcement of mini-budget by the finance minister, prices of essential commodities had already gone up subsequently increasing the cost of living.

They urged the government to promote the interest of the downtrodden segments and ensure merit based hiring of advisers.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018