ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday severely criticised the government’s recent reduction of electricity tariffs by Rs7.41 per unit, calling it a cruel joke with the nation grappling with skyrocketing inflation.
PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said that electricity prices had surged from Rs16.40 per unit during PTI’s tenure to over Rs45 now. He pointed out that the supposed reduction did not account for sales tax, making it insignificant in light of the previous hikes.
He accused the Shehbaz Sharif-led government of raising essential goods’ prices by over 100 percent, and later only to offer marginal reductions, describing it as a tactic to deceive the public.
He further criticised the government for failing to pass on the benefit of global drop in oil prices to consumers, instead raising taxes to exacerbate the burden on the people.
He also challenged the ruling families to repatriate their wealth and invest in the country if they truly believed in the economic recovery.
Meanwhile, Akram rejected rumours of internal rifts within PTI, calling them a product of political opponents’ desires, and reaffirmed the party’s unity under Imran Khan’s leadership.
Despite two years of political suppression, he claimed that PTI remained the largest and most popular political force in the country. He recalled that PTI had won a two-thirds majority in the February 8 elections last year, only for it to be ‘stolen through electoral fraud’.
He warned that any further propaganda and attempts to destabilise PTI would fail.
He also urged the government to reconsider its policies, asserting that the country was sinking into a crisis due to the failed leadership. He stressed that only Imran Khan could steer the country out of the current turmoil and demanded his immediate release.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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