Pak interim PM calls rising power bill 'non-issue', cancels Kenya visit as protests rage

Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar deemed the country's ongoing power crisis as a "non-issue” as citizens and political rivals took to the streets, setting power bills ablaze to protest against rising costs of electricity. Instead, he claimed that the issue was being used as a “tool” by political parties to fuel their campaigns. 

“It is not a very serious issue, but political parties are in election mode and using it as a social cause,” he told journalists on Friday, adding that if he were in a similar position he would follow the same tactic. “I realise their position. If I were to contest the election, I would have followed the same as well,” Kakar said, according to Dawn. 

The interim PM has garnered flak for dismissing the issue and asserting that consumers simply “have to pay the bills”. This has aggravated the protests across the nation even more, with parties like the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) holding rallies against the price hike in the city of Lahore. 

When asked about the issue of using free electricity, the PM stated that the government reached out to the military and found out that the forces were not using a single unit for free. Instead, their bills were being paid from the financial budget allocated to them.

Pak caretaker PM cancels Kenya visit 

As unrest due to the power crisis continues to grow, Kakar called off his visit to Kenya on Saturday. Initially, he was scheduled to visit the East African nation for the Africa Climate Summit between September 4 and 6 at the invitation of President William Samoei Ruto. 

The now-cancelled tour would have been the interim PM's first foreign visit since he assumed the role, according to Geo News. Since the interim government came into being, Pakistan has entrenched itself deeper in crisis. From rising costs of fuel and electricity to mounting foreign loans, the country appears to be in the midst of a complete meltdown and no way out.