Power cut scare at Pak PM’s office over non-payment of electricity bills

Islamabad: It is not a secret that Pakistan’s economy is downward spiral, it is now starkly visible with reports of notices issued to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s office by the Islamabad Electric Supply Company over non-payment of bills for the past several months, according to Business Today.

The Imran Khan's secretariat owes electricity bills worth 41 lakh Pakistani Rupees to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESC), say Pak media reports. The IESC has said that the secretariat has not paid its electricity bills for the past several months, reported IANS.

Power cuts, especially during summer seasons, have worsened in Pakistan in recent years. These regular power cuts usually lead to the suspension of work at factories and offices, thereby affecting the overall business activity.

Imran Khan's ruling party, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), won the last parliamentary election in 2013, vowing to end power outages before the next elections. Reuters has reported that power cuts and scheduled outages, known as load shedding, in urban areas, however, have been reduced from about 12 hours a day previously to only occasional outages now.

Pakistan's economy is on a downward spiral for the past couple of years. From the country's massive debts, rampant corruption to unemployment, inflation and widening fiscal deficit -- there seems to be a little hope for the Islamic country's shaky economy.