Imran Khan ends civil disobedience, pays Bani Gala electricity bills

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday paid two pending electricity bills of his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad — a move which appears to signal the end of the civil disobedience movement he had launched against the federal government in August last year.

Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) authorities confirmed that the cricketer-turned-politician has paid two bills – a day into his marriage to former BBC weather girl Reham Khan – which were pending since August 2014.

Khan has two power connections installed at his residence — the first one required him to pay Rs 133,260 whereas the second amount stood at Rs 15,310.

In October 2014, IESCO had cut off power supply to Khan’s Bani Gala residence, citing non-payment of electricity dues as the reason for disconnecting electricity despite Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif’s earlier claims that Imran had been paying his electricity bills.

Last year in August, Khan had given a call for civil disobedience as part of the PTI’s then-protests against the federal government and had urged people not to pay taxes and utility bills to force the government to accept the party’s demands, which included the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose government they called the outcome of a rigged election.