Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has scrapped his plan to address the nation and rather he has decided to take editors, senior journalists and some anchors into confidence over the energy crisis and the government’s policy on it today (Tuesday).
The prime minister had to address the nation on Monday but the address was cancelled without any formal announcement.
A source told Pakistan Today that Nawaz decided not to address the nation after he was advised by some of his close aides that he should not go directly to the masses over the sensitive matter. “Following the recent incidents of violence over unabated load shedding across the country and especially in Punjab, the government has changed its strategy and it has been decided that the premier should only address the nation with a good news,” the source said.
The source added that since the government had decided to do away with the subsidies in the energy policy, the prime minister had been advised to use the media to project the government’s case to the public.
“Since the government is going to take an unpopular decision due to increase in the price of power, it has been decided that senior journalists and anchors would be briefed over the issue and the government’s policy to meet the challenging situation, including some unpopular decisions in the energy policy such as increasing power prices,” the source added.
The source said Nawaz would make an attempt to convince the media on the PML-N government’s rationale behind the measures recommended in the energy policy.
The government had decided to do away with the subsidies in electricity bills for the poor following its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, which had promised $5.3 billion loan to the PML-N government.
Fearing backlash, PM postpones plan to address nation on energy policy
