PM Kakar never called inflated electricity bills a non-serious issue, clarifies Solangi

PM Kakar to leave for Kenya tomorrow to attend Africa Climate Summit: FO.

 

ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Minister for Informa­tion and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi on Saturday clarified that some sections of the media had misreported the recent interac­tion of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar with jour­nalists in Islamabad regarding the electricity bills issue. 

Murtaza Solangi, in a news statement, clarified that when the prime minister was asked during the interaction whether the elec­tricity bills had caused chaos or anarchy in the country, he ruled out the anarchy, but did not dis­miss the matter as non-issue.

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 prime minister reaffirmed in the media interaction that the solution would soon be worked out, Solangi added. 

He said 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. PM Kakar never said that people's problems were “un­just”, he added. 

He said some responsible jour­nalists had also confirmed that the prime minister had not re­ferred to the matter of electric­ity bills as a non-serious issue. Instead, he had stated that the country had commitments with international organisations, as­suring that a solution would be worked out for the people with­out compromising the promis­es made to the organizations.The minister said ironically, it was projected in some sections of media that the prime minister was not concerned about people’s difficulties, which was unjust and against journalistic norms.

He appealed to the media to report news accord­ing to the facts. The minister also cited a couplet from Faiz Ahmed Faiz Poetry to comment on the misreporting of the media interaction.

‘AFRICA CLIMATE SUMMIT’

Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will pay a three-day official visit to Nairobi, Kenya from Mon­day to participate in the Africa Climate Summit.

According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Mum­taz Zahra Baloch, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani will accompany the Prime Minister in the visit.

The visit is taking place at the invitation of Pres­ident William Samoei Ruto of Kenya. At the Sum­mit, the Prime Minister will articulate Pakistan’s perspective on the global climate crisis and high­light our national efforts to rebuild in a climate-re­silient manner after last year’s devastating floods. Prime Minister’s key messages in Nairobi would include the need for enhanced climate coopera­tion at all levels to confront the common challenge of Climate Change in an effective manner. In Nai­robi, the Prime Minister is also expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counter­parts from Africa, including Kenya, and with oth­er high-level dignitaries. The Africa Climate Sum­mit is the initiative of Kenya and the African Union.

Pakistan’s high-level participation in the Summit is not only in keeping with its traditionally proac­tive climate diplomacy, but is also in line with the ‘Look Africa’ outlook for enhanced engagement with countries in Africa. Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said cooper­ation between Information Ministry and Nation­al Heritage and Culture Division can be very ben­eficial in promoting art and culture in the country. He was talking to Caretaker Minister of National Heritage and Culture Jamal Shah in Islamabad to­day. They held discussion on possible measures to promote art and culture. Jamal Shah informed the Prime Minister about the affairs of his ministry.