On Monday, the Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government’s policy of continuous increases in the price of electricity is creating distance between them and the people. Instead of giving relief to the people who are worried about inflation, the government continues to overburden them, which is seriously undermining their confidence, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that after Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, protests against the government’s policies may start in other parts of the country.
Speaking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that neither the public nor the IPPs had entered into contracts with them, and they were not responsible for the incompetence and corruption in the power sector. He said that it is not the masses’ job to collect electricity bills, which the government cannot recover and continuously burden the masses with. Instead of reducing losses, bill-paying consumers are made to pay for authorities’ incompetence, increasing public frustration.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that inflation has broken the backs of the people. Those who were considered middle class until a few years ago have now become miserable. Those who have not had to sell their jewellery and assets consider themselves fortunate. The business leader stated that the middle class and people experiencing poverty have grown weary of taking loans and no longer have this option. We should support our political leadership in their efforts to address the worst economic crisis in the country’s history.
The government should take strict action against various mafias, which will boost the people’s morale and inspire new enthusiasm for the government. Mian Zahid Hussain said Nepra has also become a tool for power sector profiteers not concerned about people’s interests. He asked, “What is the point of spending millions of rupees on an organisation that can’t even do its job?”
Every other day, some big scandals come to light, which shows that mafias are trying to subvert the government.
Mian Zahid Hussain added that the people are waiting for the government’s announcements and promises to be implemented. The government has accepted the demands of the protestors in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, proving its good intentions.
He said the power sector can provide facilities to the public by eliminating power theft, bill collection, line loss reduction, and privatisation.