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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved an increase in electricity prices aimed at fulfilling a major condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive a program suspended for 10 months.
The IMF had set a condition to increase the price of electricity for a loan of $ 6 billion, but the loan program was suspended due to non-acceptance of the condition by the prime minister. The electricity prices could go up by 25% or Rs3.34 per unit on account of the annual base tariff increase of the previous fiscal year.
Sources said that after the approval of the prime minister, the government has started consultations on the method of raising prices and revolving loans, while after the increase in prices, the price of electricity has increased from Rs 13.35 per unit to Rs 16.69 per unit. will be done.
Sources said that the increase was part of the basic terms of the IMF loan program, but the IMF delegation was unlikely to visit Pakistan until a notification was issued by the Pakistani government.
In January this year, the IMF had placed the conditions of increasing electricity tariffs and bringing nearly Rs200 billion worth of mini-budget for taking Pakistan’s case to its board for the approval of a third loan tranche of $450 million and second review of the economy for October-December 2019 period.
