Extra fuel charges in power bills deferred, not waived

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Wednesday the application of fuel cost adjustment (FCA) on electricity bills had been deferred, not waived, on the orders of the prime minister, but promised that electricity rates and inflation would start declining after a month. He was speaking at a joint news conference with Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who said the finance minister would be elected as a senator before the expiry of his six-month term on Oct 16 in recognition of his hard work and tireless efforts to bring back the country from the brink of default and put up a strong defence against criticism. As per law, a person can be made a minister for six months and has to get elected as a senator or an MNA after that time. He hinted at Mr Ismail’s election on a seat to be vacated by one of the senators whose terms are due for expiry in about 18 months, i.e. March 2024. He said the prime minister, the PML-N and cabinet members had expressed confidence in Mr Ismail’s performance and “this confidence is well placed and well deserved”.