Pakistan govt withdraws power tariff hike

Faced with pressure from the Supreme Court, the Pakistan government today withdrew a notification for a steep increase in power tariffs by 40 to 210 per cent.
Attorney General Munir Malik informed a bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in writing that the government was withdrawing the notification, Dawn News reported.
On September 30, the government had announced the increase in tariff for domestic electricity consumers across the country. The increase, needed to meet conditions for an IMF bailout package, was criticised by the public and opposition parties.
During today's hearing of the suo moto case initiated by the apex court after rampant power cuts across the country, the Chief Justice told the Attorney General that the court was not fighting a legal battle against the government.

He said the court wanted to be enlightened about notifications and powers exercised by authorities. The Supreme Court had sought a written reply from the Power Ministry regarding the re-assessment of electricity prices.
The Attorney General informed the bench that the tariffs announced by the government were lower than the rates proposed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.
Power Minister Khwaja Asif told the court that electricity production decreases in winter because of an increase in domestic gas usage and fall in the level of rivers.
But the Chief Justice said the court would hold the government responsible if it failed to give relief to the people. "The government should make a policy addressing this issue and should not drag the court into it," he said before adjourning the case for two weeks.