According to the report of Geo News, no specific date was given regarding the return of Nawaz Sharif. (file)
Islamabad:
Former Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday claimed that former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N supremo Nawaz Sharif will not return to the country under a secret agreement reached in London.
Geo News quoted The News as saying that he made this statement after several PML-N leaders said that Nawaz Sharif would arrive in the country “soon”, but none of them gave a specific date.
The former home minister said the closure of markets and shops at 7 pm would be an “economic death knell” for the shopkeepers, for which the current “imported” government would be responsible.
Ahmed also pointed out that the Pakistani rupee had fallen from 210 to a dollar in hawala, while it was trading at 220 to a dollar. He warned that the finance minister was about to give the country “one more shot” of price hikes, Geo News reported.
The former home minister further said that in such a situation former prime minister Imran Khan is the “only popular leader” in the country, while a dozen political parties in the ruling coalition have fallen out of favor with the people.
He said, ‘Only Imran Khan has touched the hearts and minds of the people.
“The present imported government is another name for vested interests. It is a group of thieves,” Ahmed said.
Earlier, the Pakistan government had ordered the markets in Sindh province to be closed at 9 pm (local time) to save electricity amid frequent power cuts in the country.
People are facing high temperature due to frequent load-shedding across the country. The Shahbaz Sharif government has blamed its predecessor Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the energy crunch.
Measures are being taken to bridge the gap between power supply and demand. The government notification states that the morning hours should be used for business activities.
Earlier this week, several federal ministers in Pakistan urged traders to adopt austerity measures to reduce wastage of fuel and electricity.
This report regarding the government order has come amid growing concerns of Pakistan over the growing energy crisis.
Due to Pakistan’s inability to pay for China’s electricity supply, the country is in the throes of power shortage, disrupting life and business amid this unbearable heat.
They have closed several plants as the Pakistani government failed to pay dues of 300 billion rupees (US$1.5 billion).
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
