ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured the secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that Islamabad was ready to work with member states to make the inter-government body “stronger, effective” as it seeks to forge deeper economic and trade ties with them.
Pakistan hosted the SCO’s Council of Heads of Government summit from Oct. 15-16 this week in Islamabad where regional leaders representing China, India, Russia, Iran and other countries arrived.
The SCO is a key Eurasian political, economic and security alliance founded in 2001 by China, Russia and several Central Asian nations. Over the years, it has expanded to include countries like India and Pakistan, making it a significant regional bloc.
Sharif received Zhang Ming, SCO’s secretary-general, who was in the Pakistani capital for the summit. The Pakistani premier thanked Ming for his support in conducting the regional summit.
“He [Sharif] stressed that Pakistan stood ready to work with SCO Member States so as to make the organization more effective and stronger,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
He reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to the SCO’s charter, adding that Pakistan would continue to work wholeheartedly to promote SCO’s development priorities for the benefit of its member states and the wider region.
“Mr. Ming warmly felicitated the Prime Minister on the successful organization of the SCO CHG Meeting and its positive outcome,” Sharif’s office said.
“He appreciated Pakistan’s constructive contributions to SCO’s work and activities across all domains and expressed satisfaction over Pakistan’s leadership role as SCO CHG chair.”
PAKISTAN, MONGOLIA TO FORM MINISTERIAL COMMISSION
Separately, Sharif met his Mongolian counterpart Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene where the two leaders spoke about bilateral ties between their countries.
Sharif suggested the two countries mark 2025 as the year of Pakistan-Mongolia friendship to enhance their bilateral relationship.
“Both leaders agreed on forming a Joint Ministerial Commission to enhance cooperation in trade, tourism, agriculture and mining sectors,” the PMO said.
“Establishment of an inter-parliamentary union was also agreed in the meeting to expand the parliamentary relations between the two countries,” it added.
Pakistan says ready to work with SCO members to make organization ‘stronger, effective’
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Pakistan says ready to work with SCO members to make organization ‘stronger, effective’
- PM Shehbaz Sharif meets SCO secretary-general Zhang Ming to discuss recently held summit in Pakistan’s capital
- Reaffirms Islamabad’s commitment to SCO’s charter, says Islamabad will promote development priorities for members
Power minister defends solar net-metering overhaul after Pakistan PM orders review
- Leghari says 466,000 net-meter users earn up to 50% returns while 35.5 million consumers bear higher costs
- NEPRA’s new rules require full grid tariffs for usage and lower, market-linked rates for excess solar exports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power minister on Thursday defended controversial changes to rooftop solar net-metering rules, arguing that generous returns for a small number of users were unfairly burdening millions of other electricity consumers, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a review a day earlier.
The dispute centers on changes to the net-metering regime, under which households and businesses with rooftop solar panels can sell excess electricity to the national grid. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's (NEPRA) new compensation rules require consumers to pay full tariffs for electricity drawn from the grid while receiving a lower, market-linked rate for excess power they export.
Critics have called the revisions “anti-solar” and warned they would undermine renewable energy adoption and hurt household finances.
Power Minister Sardar Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari told the National Assembly that only 6,000-7,000 megawatts of Pakistan’s estimated 22,000 megawatts of installed solar capacity fall under net-metering, covering around 466,000 consumers out of 35.5 million nationwide electricity users.
“If a net-metering consumer earns a 50% return on his investment because of the savings he gets as a meter user, while IPPs [independent power producers] get 17% and bank deposits earn 8%, isn’t a 50% return a good rate,” he asked.
“I generate electricity at Rs. 5 and send it to the grid at Rs. 27,” he continued. “The average price at which we buy electricity from the rest of the grid is Rs. 8.31. Is buying at Rs. 27 justified?”
Leghari said under the revised framework, returns for net-meter users would fall to around 37%, adding that even at that level, rooftop solar power generation remains financially attractive.
He said the changes were aimed at ensuring “fair pricing” and reducing cross-subsidies borne by the broader consumer base.
“Besides them, there are 35.5 million other consumers who do not even use net-metering,” he said, adding that if electricity costs for the wider public fell by up to Rs. 1.50 per unit, the adjustment would be justified.
Leghari's statement follows the prime minister's instructions to file a review in response to the new NEPRA rules, as he directed his administration to protect existing consumer contracts while ensuring the policy does not shift the financial burden onto non-solar electricity users.
