KARACHI: Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail opposed ending load shedding in the country.
The former finance minister said in a conversation with the media that in a country like Pakistan if load shedding takes place for one to two hours in summer, it does not make any difference.
He said that the country has a demand of 30,000 to 31,000 megawatts of electricity during summer, but it drops to 12,000 megawatts in winter. “IPPs have to pay capacity charges due to such reduction in power demand in winter,” he said.
Miftah Ismail said that if the 5,000 note is stopped, if it is not done, it will be damaged and people will buy more dollars.
He said that the reason for the decline in the value of the dollar is that due to the government’s initiatives, business confidence has come. “The government should also stop the smuggling of Iranian oil and diesel,” he added.
Read more: ‘IMF not likely to give any relief in electricity tariff’: Miftah Ismail
The former finance minister said that gas should be made more expensive to increase the demand for electricity in winter. “Right now, there is neither a lot of capital coming into the country nor any new industry,” he maintained. He said, “I agree that rich families are being oppressed by giving cheap gas.”
