ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government of Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is looking for International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval before extending any relief to electricity consumers dealing with highly inflated bills, said the information minister, as street protests continued in the country.
People have taken to streets in various Pakistani cities to demand relief from the latest increase in power tariffs amid record inflation in the country. Television footage over the weekend showed people burning the bills and scuffling with officials of power distribution companies.
The protests began in Karachi on August 17 in response to a Rs4.96 per unit power tariff increase by Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and have since spread across the country. The price hike was agreed with the IMF earlier this year when the international lender approved a short-term $3 billion bailout package for Pakistan.
The prime minister on Tuesday chaired a federal cabinet meeting to discuss different measures to extend relief to electricity consumers, but the government failed to announce the strategy to assuage public anger.
“Some proposals were discussed during the [cabinet] meeting, but it is imperative to take the International Monetary Fund on board in this regard,” information minister Murtaza Solangi said while speaking to a private news channel.
He said the cabinet deliberated over the recommendations of the energy ministry on the issue related to inflated electricity bills.
“Minister of Finance Shamshad Akhtar was in contact with the IMF and soon the government would be in a position to announce its decisions over the issue related to the bills,” Solangi was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his ministry.
“The decisions would be made after reviewing primary surplus and circular debt data,” he said.
A source in the energy ministry told Arab News that officials were working on a plan to offer electricity consumers of up to 400 units to deposit their bills in four equal instalments.
“Different proposals are being discussed at the moment to extend relief to consumers and hopefully a concrete plan would be announced soon,” he said.
The previous government of ex-PM Shehbaz Sharif agreed with the IMF to raise taxes and power prices for a deal in June that helped the nation avert a sovereign debt default.
On the other hand, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran, a body of traders in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi, on Monday threatened to “observe a countrywide shutter down strike on August 31” if the government failed to address the issue of tariff hikes.
The protests over electricity bills are the first challenge for Kakar’s two-week old caretaker administration, which was installed as a constitutional requirement to supervise national elections after the dissolution of the National Assembly earlier in August.
Syed Akhtar Ali, an energy expert, said the government would have to create a fiscal space to extend relief to domestic electricity consumers, otherwise the street protests would “lead to anarchy in the country.”
“The least the government can do at this stage is to withdraw the 17 percent general sales tax on the bills of up to 300 units to provide immediate relief to the public,” he told Arab News.
Ali said the government could compensate the GST burden through budgetary adjustment and cracking down on tax evasion in different sectors.
“In the long run, the government could devise a multiprong strategy to fix the energy crisis by overcoming line losses, theft and phasing out the expensive power plants,” he suggested.
Government looks for IMF nod to extend relief to electricity consumers in Pakistan
https://arab.news/wbw5q
Government looks for IMF nod to extend relief to electricity consumers in Pakistan
- Information Minister says the government is in touch with the IMF to discuss relief measures and would announce them soon
- Energy expert suggests the government to withdraw 17 percent general sales tax to extend immediate relief to consumers
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
