ISLAMABAD: Officials from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) opposition party will meet on Monday to plan an anti-government protest campaign, a senior party leader said on Friday, following instructions from their jailed leader former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to launch an agitation against the administration of Prime Minister Imran Khan over a ballooning economic crisis.
Sharif is currently serving a seven-year sentence imposed last year for failing to disclose the source of income that allowed him to acquire the Al-Azizia Steel Mills in Saudi Arabia. He has appealed. He was let out of prison in March on medical bail but landed back in jail last week after the court refused to extend the bail period.
On Thursday, Sharif met his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and other family members and party leaders at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail and according to local media reports instructed them to plan an anti-government protest movement after Eid Al-Fitr, the religious festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Economic deterioration, high inflation and unemployment will be the main pillars of the agitation, media said.
“PMLN has summoned a party meeting on Monday,” senior PMLN leader Pervaiz Rashid told Arab News. “The purpose of this call [to protest] is to highlight people’s hardships,” he added, saying he would share details of what the party was planning once Monday’s meeting had taken place.
Inflation at its highest in more than five years has shocked many Pakistanis who voted for PM Khan and his promise to eradicate poverty, create jobs and build an Islamic welfare state. On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee hit an all-time low, ending the day in the interbank market at 146.52 against the US dollar, compared to the previous day’s close of 141.40. The crash has followed the signing of a $6 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund, which insists that a “market-determined” exchange rate would help Pakistan’s financial sector.
Rashid said Monday’s meeting would be chaired by PMLN Senior Vice President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq “to discuss the mechanism for the protest.”
Responding to a question about whether Sharif had asked his party to intensify contact with other opposition parties so they could put up a joint front against the government, Rashid said no contact had been made with other parties as yet.
Earlier this week, the chairperson of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party party, Asif Ali Zardari, also hinted that his party would launch a street protest against the government after Eid.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, said the PMLN had no justification for launching a movement against the economy, accusing the party of stunting growth during its five-year term from 2013-2018.
“After leading the funeral of the economy, they now want to extract more oil from the people,” she said in a tweet on Friday. In another post, she said: “After wrecking the economy, with what face are they talking about going to the people?”
On Friday, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that Maryam Nawaz Sharif would attend an ‘important’ party meeting on May 20 to discuss whether or not to launch a protest drive against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, struggling to cope with a ballooning economic crisis. Maryam was recently appointed vice president of the party, a move met with opposition by many party old-hands.
In a tweet on Thursday, Maryam also hinted at launching a protest campaign against the government, saying about her meeting with her father: “He said the PML-N must respond to the aspirations of the masses, stand with them & become their voice.”
Meeting Monday to plan anti-government agitation, Nawaz Sharif’s party says
Meeting Monday to plan anti-government agitation, Nawaz Sharif’s party says
- PMLN’s protest movement will highlight “people’s hardships” in light of Pakistan economic crisis, Pervez Rashid said
- PM’s assistant on information says PMLN wrecked economy, has no justification for protesting
Pakistan plans 3,000 EV charging stations as green mobility push gathers pace
- Roadmap unveiled by energy efficiency regulator and a private conglomerate amid early-stage EV rollout
- New EV Policy and related plans aim to install 3,000 EV stations by 2030, including 240 stations in current fiscal year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s energy efficiency regulator and a private conglomerate have unveiled an approved roadmap to establish 3,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Tuesday.
The announcement comes as Pakistan looks to build out basic EV charging infrastructure, which remains limited and unevenly distributed, largely concentrated in major cities. Despite policy commitments to promote electric mobility as part of climate and energy-efficiency goals, the absence of a nationwide charging network has slowed broader EV adoption.
Pakistan’s EV ecosystem is still at a formative stage, with progress constrained by regulatory approvals, grid connectivity issues and coordination challenges among utilities, regulators and fuel retailers. Expanding charging infrastructure is widely seen as a prerequisite for scaling electric transport for both private and commercial use.
According to APP, the roadmap was presented during a meeting between Malik Group Chief Executive Officer Malik Khuda Baksh and National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Managing Director and Additional Secretary Humayon Khan.
“Baksh ... in a meeting with Khan, unveiled the approved roadmap for establishing 3,000 electric vehicle charging stations across Pakistan,” APP reported. “Khan reaffirmed the authority’s full institutional backing and pledged to expand the initiative to 6,000 EV charging stations nationwide.”
The discussion reviewed hurdles delaying the rollout, including EV charger imports, customs duties, regulatory documentation and inter-agency coordination.
APP said Khan welcomed the proposal and sought recommendations for “internationally compliant EV charger brands,” while asking for a detailed “issue-and-solutions report within three days” to facilitate timely implementation of the national green mobility initiative.
Despite the issuance of 13 licenses by NEECA and the arrival of five EV charging units at designated sites, progress has been slowed by procedural bottlenecks, officials said. These include delays in electricity connections, prolonged installation of separate meters and pending no-objection certificates from power distribution companies and oil marketing firms, which continue to stall operational readiness.
Pakistan’s electric vehicle ecosystem is still in its early stages, with charging infrastructure far behind levels seen in more advanced markets. The government’s New Energy Vehicle Policy and related plans aim to install 3,000 EV charging stations by 2030, including 240 stations planned in the current fiscal year, but actual deployment remains limited and uneven, mostly clustered in major cities and along key urban corridors.
Despite regulatory backing, including the 2024 Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure and Battery Swapping Stations framework, progress has been slow. Many proposed stations have yet to become operational due to delays in grid connections and approvals, and public maps of nationwide charging coverage are not yet available.
Private players are beginning to install more chargers, and there are over 20 public EV charging points reported in urban centers, offering both slower AC chargers and faster DC options. However, such infrastructure is still sparse compared with the growing number of electric vehicles and the government’s long-term targets.
