The federal government on Friday filed a request with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to reduce electricity prices by Rs1.71 per unit countrywide — including Karachi.

It was widely reported in the media through official leaks that the prime minister would announce a Rs8 per unit reduction in electricity rates in his speech to the nation on March 23. The prime minister, however, did not announce any such relief package in his Pakistan Day speech.

Turns out, the reduction in electricity tariffs, promised by the government, could not get past the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was holding back a staff-level agreement (SLA) on........

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