PESHAWAR: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Finance, Shaukat Tarin on Monday was elected as Senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly by securing 87 votes.

Out of the total 145-member house, 122 MPAs cast their votes in the Senate election on one seat from KP Assembly. The candidates of Awami National Party and JUI-F got 13 votes each. One vote was rejected while 9 were declared invalid.

The seat was fallen vacant after the resignation of Ayub Afridi of PTI, who has already been appointed as Advisor to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis & HRD.

Tarin Monday expressed gratitude to members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly for electing him as Senator and asserted that PTI would continue to serve the masses.

Talking to media here after winning the Senate seat, he said that he would visit Peshawar every month, adding that the government was taking pragmatic measures to provide relief to common man, especially the poor segment of society.

Tarin for keeping a close eye on lentil rates

Referring to price hike, he said that it was a global phenomenon as the corona pandemic has affected the economy of even developed countries. However, he said that the government was giving targeted subsidies to masses under Ehsas Rashan Card to provide respite from inflation.

He said that the national economy is witnessing 5 to 6 percent growth and soon the prices of commodities would reduce.

Regarding electricity and gas load shedding, Tarin said that more reserves of gas are being explored to provide uninterrupted gas supply to commercial and domestic consumers, adding that priority was still being given to domestic consumers.

Referring to electricity load shedding he said that it was the result of high line losses, and the government is working on how to give relief to masses in high line losses areas.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021