Anwaarul Haq Kakar rejects impression that govt exploiting masses through electricity bills, other taxes n Directs provision of maximum facilities to overseas Pakistanis at airports.

ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Prime Min­ister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said Thursday that the interim gov­ernment closely mon­itored the issue of in­flated electricity bills under a solution-based approach and trying to resolve it without de­fiance of international monetary agreements.

Talking to media per­son in Islamabad on Thursday, he said this issue has become long­standing as a result of unfavorable contracts with IPPs during 90’s inefficient bills recov­ery process and bad transmission lines.

The prime minis­ter regretted that since many decades we re­mained unable to plan increase in hydel pro­duction and the in­creased dependency on imported fuel for power generation mul­tiplied the electricity cost. He said best pos­sible professionals had been included in the cabinet to deal with prevailing crucial chal­lenges including econo­my and defence.

The prime minister categorically refuted the impression being circulated on social me­dia regarding exploita­tion of masses through electricity bills and other taxes. Reaffirm­ing his resolve to work hard for the betterment of the country, he urged media to equip itself in relevant departments for informed opinion that can improve coun­try's economy. 

Anwaarul Haq Kakar said we believe in the resolution of issue instead of delaying it and for this purpose we are try­ing to diagnose the real problem behind economic crisis.

Counting on some identified areas of economic issue, he said the non-productive investment is leading to stagnation, there­fore, no subsidy will be offered to any such investment sectors.

Regarding terrorism, the Prime Minister said Pakistan al­ways stressed for responsible withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, but unfortunately the rush withdrawal enhanced the capacity of terrorists to fight which is effecting the whole re­gion including Pakistan.

Reassuring the protection of every inch of country, he reit­erated that we will resist every threat.

The Prime Minister further said our major task is to assist Election commission to conduct free and fair elections following the regional standards and we will fulfill its responsibly. 

Also, Caretaker Prime Min­ister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday directed the Immigra­tion and Customs authorities to extend maximum facilities to overseas Pakistanis at airports.

“The overseas Pakistanis are a valuable asset for the country and their services for econom­ic stability are laudable,” the prime minister said chairing a meeting to discuss the matters related to the national economy.

In the meeting, the prime min­ister was apprised of the current economic indicators as well as the present situation. The meet­ing held consultation to devise a strategy to curb smuggling of different items besides review­ing the progress in the barter trade with Iran.

The representatives of the business community assured the government of their all-out support for revival of the na­tional economy. 

A detailed discussion was also held regarding the dollar appre­ciation as well as the steps to curb the illegal business of the foreign exchange.

Caretaker Ministers Dr Sham­shad Akhtar, Gohar Ejaz, Sar­faraz Ahmed Bugti and Murta­za Solangi, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed, Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana, federal secretar­ies and senior officials attended the meeting. The prominent in­dustrialists of the country were also present.