ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday unveiled its energy conservation plan, according to which all the markets and restaurants will be shut down at 8pm.

Speaking during a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the wedding halls will be closed at 10pm.

The timings of the restaurants may be extended an hour or so, he added.

“If 20% of the workers are sent to work from home on a rotational basis, this will save Rs56 billion,” said the minister.

The minister also shared that the federal government was recommending switching street lights on alternately which will save about Rs4 billion.

“The government is also introducing e-bikes which will phase out the bikes that use petrol. The government is negotiating with the companies to phase out the bikes that use petrol and modify the existing bikes,” said Asif.

The minister said that the government is reaching out to all four provinces to inform them about the policy and take them on board. He said that it is a National Energy Conservation Plan and will be launched with consensus.

Asif added that this plan will be finalised on Thursday after consultations with the rest of the provinces.

Asif said that the country cannot afford the current living conditions as it is going through a serious economic situation.

“We need to change our habits if we want to live within our means,” said the defence minister. Asif said that billions of rupees can be saved by conserving energy through different sources.

“Austerity will become a part of our nation which will end the economic problems,” he said.

Meanwhile, Adviser to PM Qamar Zaman Kaira assured that Pakistan will not default. He urged the people to accept the government’s policy.

“The biggest issue of Pakistan is the import bill which is $26 to $28 billion and it keeps increasing. There is no other option for us than to take these steps and the nation will have to cooperate with the government,” said Kaira.

Govt working out plan to reduce circular debt

Last week, sources had told that the government without allowing an upward revision in electricity and gas tariffs had directed the relevant authorities to come up with viable plans to reduce the monster of circular debt that had now peaked at Rs4 trillion.

However, without pricing adjustments, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rejected the initial plan for slashing the circular debt shared by Pakistani authorities with them in recent days because the Fund wants cost recovery of electricity and gas generation sectors.

Sources had told that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a high-level meeting to deliberate upon the cash-bleeding energy sector to prepare a plan for slashing down the circular debt, which will be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval.

Afterwards, this revised-updated plan will be shared with the IMF. But the meeting with PM was postponed.

The IMF high-ups assured the Pakistani authorities that they would continue holding virtual meetings during the Christmas holidays and Pakistani authorities were assigned to come up with a viable plan to erase the circular debt. The IMF had expressed its annoyance that the circular debt of the power sector had not shown improvements sought on the occasion of completion of the 7th and 8th reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. The IMF’s displeasure further grew when the circular debt of the gas sector jacked up to Rs1,600 billion.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, DEC 20: 26th December 2022 marks the 28^th Death Anniversary of the renowned national poet Perveen Shakir.  On this occasion The Perveen Shakir Trust will organize a floral wreath laying ceremony and FatehaKhawani at the poet’s grave in H-8 graveyard at 11.30 am.

Poets, writers, friends and people from different walks of life will assemble together to pay their tribute to the legacy and everlasting poetry of Perveen Shakir, whose sudden death in a tragic car accident shook the field of Urdu literature and left a vacuum that is difficult to fill.

Officers from the Customs Department will pay homage to the star of their Department.Later during the day Quran Khawani will be held at the residence of the Chairperson of the Trust for eesal-e-sawab of the poet.=DNA

Says Kh Asif sleeping when Murad warned of looming danger 

Regime Change operation not allow new era of Pak-Afghan ties to begin: PTI leader

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Fawad Chaudhary came down hard on the imported government for enjoying sweet slumber when PTI senior leader Murad Saeed warned repeatedly of the looming danger, as the self-centered and power hungry crooked leaders were mere interested in prolong their rule for few more months, resultantly, Pakistan was now in the grip of terrorism. 

Fawad Chaudhary, in a statement on Tuesday, said that Pakistan was in the grip of terrorism; hence political stability was needed at this time, which can only come from elections.

He said that PDM had no option but to face the public as how much they could run away from elections, adding that they should not play with Pakistan for the sake of few months of power.

Lashing out at the Khawaja Asif for his remarks that border control should be done by the provincial government, Fawad stated that he should better to be put at pan shop instead of making him defense minister. 

He said that powers with zero understanding were dangerous as he was sleeping when Murad Saeed was shouting that there would be destruction.

Talking about imported government vote of no confidence, Fawad stated that until tomorrow, Rana Sanaullah and Ahsan Iqbal were saying that if assemblies were dissolved they would go to the election, but today they were running away from the elections.

He said that the purpose of no-confidence was to avoid elections; the PTI would not let them run away from the elections.

About the Taliban government, Fawad said that the Taliban government was also cooperating with Pakistan and wanted Pakistan’s role in relations with the world. He said that at Pakistan’s request, thousands of people succeeded in leaving Afghanistan easily. However, Fawad stated that Regime Change operation did not allow the new era of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations to begin. 

ISLAMABAD, DEC 20: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) compound in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was cleared after three days and all the 33 terrorists who overpowered security guards were killed in an operation.

In his briefing to the National Assembly, the federal minister said 10 to 15 soldiers had been injured and two martyred after the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group (SSG) launched an operation earlier today.

“By 2:30pm, the SSG had cleared the compound. All the hostages have been freed,” Asif said. He also mentioned that the militants were not part of one group, rather they belonged to different banned outfits.

The defence minister added that there were 33 arrested terrorists inside the compound and one of them overpowered a man stationed at the centre. He then snatched his weapon and later the terrorists took over the centre, Asif said. Terrorists affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan (TTP) were involved in the incident and in a bid to end the standoff, the Pakistani government initiated talks with the militant group’s leadership.

Sources earlier told that the terrorists were demanding a safe air route to Afghanistan.

“The unfortunate side of this incident is that terrorism is once again rearing its head, especially in KP and Balochistan. Incidents have taken place in other provinces, but in these two provinces, we have seen clear evidence.”

The defence minister also mentioned that the militants were not part of one group, rather they belonged to different banned outfits.

The defence minister mentioned that the provincial government — which oversees the CTD — has “completely failed” in carrying out its responsibility.

“The entire provincial government was a hostage of Imran Khan in Zaman Park. On the other hand, innocent people in KP were made hostage [by terrorists],” he said.

Asif added that even when floods hit KP, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government — which is in power for the last nine years — has repeatedly failed to live up to the expectations.

“But this, this is an ‘utter failure’. Ultimately, our security forces had to get involved and sacrifice their lives […] the provincial government had no role in it whatsoever. This is a failure of nine years, not six months or a year,” he said.

Asif said Imran even uses the helicopters of the provincial government. “He is also thinking to come into power once again and destroy anything that is left,” the minister said. The defence minister slammed the KP government further and said that it was at a “complete collapse”.