ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said they have achieved the goals with the historic action in Rawalpindi against exorbitant electricity bills.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, he said the JI had given the government some time to review its policies on Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
“We did not cancel our session. We just suspended it for a few days and gave time to the government,” the emir told JI.
He urged the government to reduce its expenditure to avoid JI in future.
Hafiz Naeem added that JI informed the people about the issues of exorbitant electricity bills and IPP.
Earlier, the government and JI reached an agreement regarding relief for the masses in electricity bills, tax reduction for the salaried class and review of IPP contracts.
JI staged a sit-in for their demands. Several rounds of talks have taken place between the government and JI, and on Thursday their meeting ended with the formation of a task force to resolve the issues and the Jamaat announcing the postponement of its meeting.
The two sides reached an agreement to reduce the electricity tariff, revise the IPP contracts and reduce the taxes imposed on the salary class.
Talking to reporters, JI Emir Naib Liaquat Baloch said, “An empowered task force has been set up and will complete its work in a month and submit its report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The sit-in organized by the JI on July 26 created history as the government set up a task force to meet the demands of the JI,” he said.
The government has also agreed to commission a task force that includes selecting experts from the public and private sectors, including the Wapda chairman and the auditor general, and hiring a private firm and chartered accountants to look into the IPP’s affairs, Baloch said
