Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has announced that the Punjab government decided to give relief in electricity bills for consumers using up to 500 units in August and September.
Addressing a press conference flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore on Friday, he acclaimed the provincial chief executive for providing a relief package, saying the provincial government had slashed the development fund to give Rs14 per unit cut in power bills.
The PML-N’s top leader said he recalls the time in 2017 when there was no price hike issue with people living an easy and comfortable life, adding that he became premier in 2013, his government worked on the economy, making it one of the world’s best-performing economies.
At that time, the world praised the country for its emerging economy, as the PML-N-led government took the US dollar to Rs95, Nawaz said. “However, the government had to keep the greenback pegged at Rs104 for the next four years owing to exports and some other issues.”
The greenback would have been pegged at Rs104 if he had stayed in power, he added.
Earlier, he started his speech by saying that he was evicted from the PM Office because he did not draw a salary from his son, a matter which he called “a joke”.
“Was this a justifiable reason for de-seating an incumbent prime minister?” he asked.
The PML-N government, he also said, is not behind the current price hike, adding that the world reacted to Pakistan’s growth, saying the country has rid itself of the IMF grip. “Who brought the IMF back to Pakistan is the same person [Imran Khan] who is currently speaking from jail “
The PML-N top leader said that he put an end to the load-shedding before the termination of his five-year term. “We surmounted the power crisis in three years,” he said, adding that the power bill of a common man was Rs1,600 in 2017 which has now surged to Rs18,000.
He added that the bank’s interest rate was around 5% during his tenure however, it went up to 22% under the PTI’s rule.
The N League supremo, patting the shoulder of Maryam Nawaz, thanked her that she slashed flour prices when she assumed power in the province.
