PM did not dismiss power bills as non-issue: Solangi

Information minister says some media sections ‘misreported’ Kakar’s statement

ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi on Saturday clarified that interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar had not dismissed the matter of electricity bills as a non-serious issue, but had only ruled out anarchy in the country when asked about it.

Solangi, in a statement, said some sections of the media had misreported the recent interaction of the prime minister with journalists in Islamabad regarding the issue of electricity bills.

He said the prime minister had not stated that the issue of electricity bills was not worrisome for the people, rather he explained what were the reasons behind the expensive electricity.

The minister added that the prime minister reaffirmed in the media interaction that the solution would “soon be worked out”. PM Kakar never said that people's problems were “unjust”, he added.

He pointed out that those who were responsible for the current situation had also been using the issue for political point-scoring in the wake of the upcoming election.

He said some responsible journalists had also confirmed that the PM had not referred to the matter as a non-serious issue. Instead, he added, the PM had mentioned the country’s commitments with international organisations, assuring that a solution would be worked out for the people without compromising the promises made to the organisations.

The minister said it was projected in some sections of the media that the prime minister was not concerned about the people's difficulties, which was “unjust and against journalistic norms”. He appealed to the media to report factual news.