Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Addresses High Electricity Bills Amid Protests Led by Hafiz Naeemur Rehman
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 3: Pakistan’s Prime Minister and PML-N leader, Shehbaz Sharif, urged people not to politicize the issue of electricity bills. He stated that the government aims to reduce the inflated electricity bills and is aware of the taxes imposed on the salaried class. His administration has protected consumers using up to 200 units of electricity in industries.
Sharif announced that the government has reduced the per unit cost for industries by Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 8.5 and provided Rs 50 billion for July, August, and September. He emphasized that politics on the electricity issue is tantamount to insulting people.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman ridiculed the central government over its electricity policies, claiming that citizens are committing suicide because of high electricity bills. Rehman, currently in Doha, addressed protesters through a video link, demanding a reduction in electricity tariffs for the salaried class as his protest entered its eighth day.
Rehman stated that he met the Pakistani community in Doha, who expressed solidarity with the sit-in’s participants. Jamaat-e-Islami gave a two-day deadline to the government to hold talks, warning of nationwide protests if the government did not reduce the burden of taxes.
7th day of Dharna.. Charged, vibrant, enthusiastic huge crowd. “Haq Do Awam Ko” pic.twitter.com/pH0NCLSYpo
— Naeem ur Rehman (@NaeemRehmanEngr) August 1, 2024
The third round of talks was scheduled for Thursday, but the government-appointed committee did not attend. Jamaat-e-Islami warned that they would expand their protests countrywide if the government did not address the issue.
Doubts Revealed
Pakistan PM -: PM stands for Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of the government in Pakistan, similar to how Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India.
Shehbaz Sharif -: Shehbaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is a political leader who makes important decisions for the country.
High Electricity Bills -: High electricity bills mean that people have to pay a lot of money for using electricity in their homes and businesses.
Protests -: Protests are when people gather together to show that they are unhappy about something and want it to change.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman -: Hafiz Naeemur Rehman is the leader of a political party in Pakistan called Jamaat-e-Islami. He is leading the protests against high electricity bills.
Politicize -: To politicize something means to make it a topic of political debate or to use it for political gain.
PKR -: PKR stands for Pakistani Rupee, which is the currency used in Pakistan, similar to how we use Indian Rupees (INR) in India.
Rs 50 billion -: Rs 50 billion means 50,000,000,000 Pakistani Rupees. It’s a very large amount of money that the government is planning to use to help reduce electricity costs.
Jamaat-e-Islami -: Jamaat-e-Islami is a political party in Pakistan. Political parties are groups of people who share similar ideas about how the country should be run.
Tariffs -: Tariffs in this context mean the price or cost that people have to pay for using electricity.
Salaried class -: The salaried class refers to people who earn a fixed amount of money regularly, like monthly, from their jobs.
