KARACHI: As caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar meets power sector stakeholders in Quetta today (Sunday), businessmen have asked the PM to announce the withdrawal of what they term an unbearable rise in power tariff, to provide relief to the public at large, as well as the business community.

In a joint statement, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Mohammad Tariq Yousuf and other officebearers said the hike in power tariffs is unaffordable and unacceptable for the common man, as well as trade and industry. The government should withdraw the massive hike in the electricity tariff in the larger interest of the nation and the economy, they added.

To devise a future plan of action on how to deal with the electricity tariff issue, the KCCI had also summoned a meeting of all trade and industrial associations and other stakeholders on Aug 28 (Monday), but when the caretaker prime minister called a meeting on this issue a day earlier, the KCCI leadership decided to Monday’s meeting, which will now be held later after reviewing the outcome of PM’s meeting.

“We will carry on with our strategies if no relief is provided to the perturbed masses and the business community in the PM’s meeting,” they said.

In a meeting with KCCI leaders in Karachi this week, PM Kakar had announced the appointment of Shakeel Shah as the PM Office’s Liaison Officer, with whom the business community could easily raise their issues.

During the meeting, BMG chief Zubair Motiwala also expressed deep concern over the severe gas crisis being faced by the industrial zones of Karachi, compelling them to face gas load shedding for two days a week, badly affecting the production activities of all industries, including export-oriented ones.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2023