SC gives Oct 4 deadline to govt for reviewing power price hike

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government to submit a written reply on the review by Friday in power tariff hike case.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing a suo moto case regarding raise in power tariff for domestic consumers.
During the hearing the bench directed the federal government to take stern action to end power theft rather than shifting the burden on ordinary consumers.
The apex court said that court’s intervention in governmental affairs is not a good thing after all so the government should itself resolve the tariff issue and withdraw the notification.
Attorney General of Pakistan Munir A.Malik and Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif appeared before the court.
The court directed the government to submit a written reply regarding the tariff review by Friday. At which, the minister held out assurance that hike in power tariff would be reviewed.
Meanwhile, speaking to media persons outside the court, the minister said government and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) would jointly submit a reply in the court on Friday to end the legal lacuna on the decision.
He said that no deadline could be given for an end to the load-shedding, and claimed that power theft has significantly decreased over the past two months ‘due to PML-N government’s steps’.