ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday dismissed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s allegations against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders regarding irregularities in setting up of power plants.
“In the last few days, the prime minister and members of his cabinet have issued statements which are false,” the former premier said while addressing reporters alongside Marriyum Aurangzeb and Musadik Malik.
“I take responsibility for all decisions taken during my term as prime minister,” Abbasi said.
Dismissing the allegations, the PML-N leader said, “Whoever wants to level allegations can and may conduct investigations. Party members and I will respond to the claims.”
Stating that the incumbent government is “shameless”, Abbasi said. “There is a limit to lies and accusations and it is thieves who level the most allegations.”
Responding to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s claims that power plants set-up by the PML-N government produced electricity at extremely high rates, Abbasi said, “The federal minister does not know the rates of electricity.”
“The information minister should sit down and I will respond to his questions,” he continued.
“We set-up plants which produced the cheapest electricity in Pakistan’s history and are still generating cheap electricity,” he added. Further, the former premier said, “National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) set the tariff for power plants and we lowered it.”
“It is NEPRA which determines electricity rates and not the government,” he further said.
Regarding allegations levelled by Chaudhry and Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar about misappropriation in LNG plants, Abbasi said, “If we did not set-up LNG plants then the country’s energy crisis would have never been resolved.”
“We established LNG terminals at the cheapest cost and in the quickest time and shared information regarding the projects in Parliament as well,” he further said and added that the two terminals were set-up after a bidding process.
“Be ready to apologise if the allegations are proven false,” he added.
Abbasi further said that the federal ministers misquoted the debt and equity.