The coalition government’s energy ministers said Thursday that tough decisions now would be preferable to even tougher decisions six months later, presumably setting the stage for reversing fuel and electricity discounts while negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Reduction in the international prices (of oil, gas, and coal) is not expected over the short to medium term period, not in six months at least. Therefore, responsibility requires it is better to take difficult decisions now, rather than even more difficult decisions six months later,” said Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan at a joint news conference with the Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik.
Mr. Khurram Dastgir and Mr. Musadik Malik blamed the previous PTI government squarely for energy sector challenges such as load-shedding, rising circular debt, and expensive energy due to the failure to make timely arrangements for coal, LNG, and furnace oil for power plants or reduce system losses, improve company performance, or make payments to suppliers.
According to the most recent data, the poverty situation has worsened over the last three and a half years, with four out of six families living on monthly incomes of Rs18, 000-25, 000, and the leadership does not want them to be burdened further by the price increase.
He claimed that these issues had been resolved to a large extent so that the government would absorb a portion of the cost of minefields installed by the PTI and direct it toward the rich rather than allowing the poor to be crushed by the price increase.
He stated that these issues were also being resolved with the IMF because Imran Khan not only reduced fuel and electricity prices by Rs. 10 per liter and Rs. 5 per unit, respectively, but also freeze them for four months, resulting in a total budgetary impact of Rs. 700-800 billion without any formal approval or allocation compared to the federal government’s overall expenditure of Rs. 520 billion.
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