• Criticises net-metering policy, calls it anti-consumer despite solar growth
• Warns of power crisis as demand crosses 30,000MW
• Says IMF reliance and external borrowing reflect weak economy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has said that the government is sacrificing the economic well-being of 250 million Pakistanis to conceal its lack of constitutional legitimacy.
In a statement on Saturday, the PTI leader said that while global attention was focused on peace efforts in the Middle East and Pakistan’s role in them, the clearest evidence of the government’s illegitimacy remained its economic mismanagement and the suffering it is imposing on the people.
He said governments without a public mandate avoid reform, adding that a setup “standing on 17 seats while masquerading as 170” cannot be expected to deliver vision or stability.
Mr Akram questioned the government’s energy policy, noting that on- and off-grid solar adoption helped avert a deeper loadshedding crisis, yet citizens are now being penalised through a regressive net metering policy. He asked whether the government would revisit the policy, stop passing the costs of flawed planning and unfavourable IPP contracts onto consumers, and finally shoulder part of the capacity payments to bring electricity prices in line with regional benchmarks.
With summer demand rising beyond 30,000MW, he asked whether there is any credible plan in place or if the public should brace for another season of excuses, inflated bills, and prolonged outages.
Referring to official claims that loadshedding has eased due to increased dam releases — reportedly jumping from 8,000 to 30,000 cusecs — he said this was nothing to celebrate. Mr Akram questioned whether such a surge aligns with agricultural needs or is merely a panic response to power shortages, and whether the additional water will simply be allowed to flow into the sea. He also criticised attempts to brand outages as “peak-hour relief,” calling it an insult to citizens already burdened by high tariffs.
On fuel pricing, the PTI leader said the government’s recent decisions expose a “wag the dog” approach to economic management: abrupt price hikes, windfalls to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), claims of an inability to subsidise, followed by selective freezes, record increases in petrol and diesel prices, sudden levy reversals after public backlash, and a rapid change to a supposedly “inflexible” diesel pricing formula. He noted that petroleum levy collections have exceeded Rs1,500 billion over the year, including Rs180 billion in the last six weeks, underscoring how petroleum products have been used as a tax cash cow to compensate for the failure to broaden the tax base.
Commenting on external financing, he said the release of an IMF tranche, the rollover of a $3 billion Saudi deposit, and tentative re-entry into international bond markets are being portrayed as signs of recovery, when in fact they highlight continued dependence on external support. For a government claiming this would be Pakistan’s last IMF programme, he said, the only recurring headline is the accumulation of more external debt.
The PTI leader expressed concern over the closure of operations in Pakistan by AkzoNobel, noting that it joins a list of multinational exits amid a reported 27pc year-on-year decline in investment. He said this trend contradicts official claims of improving investor confidence.
Mr Akram further cited findings of the Senate Standing Committee that state-owned enterprises, regulators, and autonomous bodies have parked around Rs1,000 billion in commercial bank accounts instead of transferring the funds to the Federal Consolidated Fund, even as provinces are being pressed to generate large surpluses and public services face acute fiscal stress. He termed this “autopilot economics,” which exposes deep governance failures.
Finally, he expressed grave concern over reports regarding the health of Bushra Bibi, wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, who was shifted back to Adiala jail after undergoing eye surgery at a Rawalpindi hospital.
The PTI leader demanded that both Imran Khan and his wife be immediately transferred to Shifa International Hospital for a comprehensive medical examination and treatment under the supervision of their personal physicians and in the presence of family members.
Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2026