
P.M. Imran Khan delivers a nationally televised address. Photo courtesy PID
In televised address, premier slashes prices of fuel, electricity and unveils new tax amnesty scheme for industrialists
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced a series of relief measures, including reducing the prices of petroleum products by Rs. 10/liter and electricity tariffs by Rs. 5/unit as pressure mounts on the government over threats from the opposition to table a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament.
“I received a summary from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and they recommended increasing the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs. 10 due to a price hike in the global markets,” he said during a nationally televised address on the state of the national economy and the government’s performance during its three-and-a-half-year tenure. “Today I want to share good news that, instead of increasing it, we will decrease [petrol prices] by Rs. 10,” he said.
Additionally, he said, electricity tariffs were being decreased by Rs. 5/unit. “This means there will be a 20-50 percent decrease in your electricity bills,” he claimed, adding that it was unfortunate that previous governments had not invested in dams and the government was forced to utilize power generated using imported fuel that was vulnerable to international price shocks.
The prime minister claimed the prices of petroleum products and electricity would remain stagnant until the next fiscal budget in June. Analysts have warned this appears unsustainable, questioning how the government would be able to offer this subsidy when just a week earlier, officials were warning of price hikes because the government could not afford to offer any subsidy to citizens.
In a posting on Twitter, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar claimed the government would absorb fuel adjustment charges of power generation for all residential and commercial consumers. On the reduction in petroleum prices, he said it would be achieved by reducing the Petroleum Development Levy in the short-term and be funded by a subsidy in the long-term.
It is unclear how these measures would impact the country’s ongoing Extended Fund Facility with the International Monetary Fund, which had mandated the government to remove all subsidies and pass on the full cost of international prices to consumers in addition to collecting the maximum permissible PDL of Rs. 30/liter.
On the Ehsaas welfare program, Khan said the government had decided to increase its outlay from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 14,000. He said the government was also seeking to reduce unemployment by offering graduates with skills-based internships against a Rs. 30,000 stipend. He did not offer any details on whether these internships would be provided by the government or private sector.
Reiterating an announcement he made last week, he said the I.T. sector, including companies and registered freelancers, had been granted 100% tax exemptions, adding they would also not face any restrictions on foreign exchange. I.T. startups would also no longer have to pay capital gains tax, he said.
Announcing a new amnesty scheme, he said that anyone wishing to invest in the country’s industrial sector would not be asked “any questions” on the sources of their income, adding overseas Pakistanis would get a five-year tax holiday.
On the Kamyab Jawan Program, he said the country’s youth and farmers would be given interest-free loans, while low-income citizens would be given subsidized loans to build homes. “Loans worth Rs. 407 billion would be disbursed during two years,” he claimed.
The prime minister also reiterated the benefits of the Sehat Card, maintaining every household in Punjab would have the facility by the end of March.
Foreign policy
Earlier, the prime minister claimed his government was bringing about an “independent” foreign policy for Pakistan that was not determined by personal interests. “From the day I entered politics, I wanted a free and independent foreign policy. This means that a nation drafts a policy that benefits the country and its people,” he said.
Referring to the “war on terror,” he reiterated that Pakistan’s participation in it was an example of the “wrong” foreign policy. “The most embarrassing part was that, for the first time in history, a country was fighting in support of a country that was bombing it,” he said, and slammed the PMLN and PPP governments for the drone strikes that occurred on Pakistani soil during their tenures.
“I want to tell the nation that if you want an independent foreign policy, you should never vote for a party whose leaders have properties and assets abroad. They will never draft an independent foreign policy,” he claimed and defended his recent visits to China and Russia—being perceived by many as Pakistan picking a “side” in the new geopolitical order—by claiming they would prove beneficial to the country’s economy.
Freedom of speech
The prime minister also defended his government’s recently promulgated Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, claiming it would not be used to curb freedom of expression. “The PECA law was made in 2016. We are only amending it,” he said. In 2016, when the law was passed by the PMLN, the PTI had vociferously opposed, claiming it would be used as a tool to target political opponents. The 2021 amendments take it further, allowing the Federal Investigation Agency to imprison anyone for up to six months without the formal framing of any charges.
Claiming that 70 percent of all news coverage was against the incumbent government, he said this had “no effect” on it. “But there is a reason why we have brought this law,” he said, and referred to the proliferation of child pornography on social media—even though PECA offers no clauses targeting anything of the sort and specifically targets content deemed to malign any person, institution or government body.
Curiously, every example the premier provided as a defense of the controversial ordinance—which is being challenged in court—was linked to media reporting and not social media, which is what the government claims it would target. He recalled a journalist reporting that his wife had left him and that he had “done something illegal” at his Bani Gala residence.
“I filed a case in the courts. It has been three years, but the prime minister has not been able to get justice and the same journalist now writes that [my] wife has left the house. If this can happen with the country’s prime minister … imagine what would happen with the rest of the people,” he said—again seemingly forgetting that this was a reported story that was not posted on social media.
Accusing “mafias” of blackmailing people under the guise of media freedom, he alleged—without identifying anyone—that journalists were “taking money, flinging filth and doing blackmail.” He claimed that only “bad journalists” had to fear the new law and that “good journalists” would welcome it.
“Lastly, I want to say to the nation that I know that these are difficult times,” he said as he concluded his address. “I know that there have been many difficulties one after the year during the last three-and-a-half years … but my government is always thinking about how to lessen the burden on you,” he said and reiterated claims that the country and its economy were headed in the right direction.