Govt warns of more arrests in Faiz Hameed case

Holding the previous PTI government responsible for an excessive hike in electricity prices, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Saturday warned that more people would be taken into custody following the arrest of former spymaster General (retd) Faiz Hameed, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the Pakistan Army carried out a transparent investigation into General (r) Faiz Hameed’s case. “The former ISI chief and his associates had facilitated PTI founder Imran Khan’s ascent to the PM office and then prior to voting on the no-trust motion against him. They were still facilitating him before they were picked up for the court-martial.”

Atta Tarar maintained “Arrests have also been made in connection with passing on messages from former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi to the party leadership.”

He went on to say that under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N government had always put the country on the path to progress and prosperity.

Alleging that the PTI was bent upon creating chaos in the society, Tarar said its politics had always centred around ‘hatred’.

The minister said that on the contrary, the Punjab government by announcing a cut in the power rates had provided a relief of Rs45 billion to the masses.

Tarar said the provincial government even had to slash its development budget for the purpose. The federal and Punjab governments are committed to public relief agenda, he added.

The said the Punjab government's decision to reduce electricity prices by Rs14 per unit for consumers using up to 500 units is an unprecedented step.  He said this reflects that the PML-N leadership is sensitive to the difficulties of the masses.

The Information Minister recalled that the prime minister had earlier provided a subsidy of Rs50 billion to the consumers using up to 200 units for three months. He said reductions in electricity prices as well as the recent one in petrol are major steps towards provision of relief to the masses.

Tarar pointed out that solarization of 28,000 tubewells in Balochistan would provide relief to the farmers of the province.

He said inflation has come down to 11 percent and international financial institutions are predicting more decline in it.

He said Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has always believed in the politics of public service. He said the government is also working to find a durable solution to reduce electricity prices. He said efforts are being made to reduce line losses and check power pilferage.