Power bills to come down next month, NA told

ISLAMABAD:

 

Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan announced in the National Assembly on Friday that the government provided Rs55 billion to the consumer using 200 to 300 units of electricity, while Rs10 billion relief had been provided to the people in the flood affected areas.

The house, chaired by Speaker Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, passed two bills aimed at abolishing death penalty for crimes falling under the Railways Act, and admitted a bill for the restoration of Pakistani citizenship to those who had previously renounced it.

The power minister told the house that electricity tariff would come down from next month. He added that electricity consumers would be given relief in fuel adjustment price in next month’s electricity bills.

“The reduction in oil prices in the international market and the appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar has helped the government slash fuel price. The fuel adjustment for June was Rs10 per unit but now it is 22 paisa per unit,” he said.

“As per instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the government has fully passed on the relief to the consumers. The electricity consumers would see the relief in the electricity bill next month” the minister added.

Meanwhile, the house passed the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2022. Besides four bills were introduced in the house, which were referred to the relevant standing committees.

The bills introduced on Friday were the Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Trade Dispute Resolution Bill, 2022, The Naturalisation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Securities and Futures Market Bill, 2022. The house was adjourned till Monday evening.

Speaking in the house, Water Resources Minister Khursheed Shah said that the recent floods in the country had caused widespread devastation. “This flood has destroyed agriculture as well as infrastructure. Losses to the tune of Rs2,000 trillion were incurred, “he said.

“We are grateful to the world for helping us, but the losses are much more. Eighty per cent crops are destroyed in Sindh, where floodwater is still standing in fields, 15 million trees are at risk of withering,” Shah said, demanding imposition of emergency to cope with the disaster.

Shah said that those who considered parliament weak were not here. He added that politics was not the name of calling names. “The parliament should ask the prime minister to come to the house and solve the problems of Pakistan.”

A lawmaker from Balochistan, Aslam Bhootani, said that floods had caused extensive damage across the country and thanked the prime minister for visiting his home district, Lasbela, twice to assess the devastation.

Bhootani criticised some Chinese firms. “They are destroying our seawater,” he alleged. “Companies operating in Balochistan have not cooperated during the current floods.” He also complained that the federal government had stopped development funds of Balochistan.

At the outset of the session, Asia Azeem of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was sworn in as National Assembly member on reserved seat for women, replacing Dr Shireen Mazari, whose resignation was accepted by Speaker Raja Parvaiz Asharif.

Dr Mazari was one of the 123 PTI lawmakers who had resigned from the National Assembly in line with the party policy in April. Mazari, who was elected on a reserved seat for women, was also among the 11 lawmakers whose resignations were accepted by the NA speaker in July.

Azeem had joined the PTI defectors. Speaking on the floor for the first time, Azeem stressed the need for dialogue to find solutions to the problems. “We are not enemies, just political rivals,” she said.

Azeem said that the government alone could not resolve all the problems; therefore, parliament had to find the solutions. She emphasised on the supremacy of parliament. She called for devising a procedure for the appointment of judges. The house will meet again on Monday.