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Former Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Friday claimed that former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N supremo Nawaz Sharif will not be returning to the country as part of a secret deal struck in London, local media reported.
He made this statement after several PML-N leaders said that Nawaz Sharif will be arriving "soon" in the country but none of them gave any specific date, Geo News reported citing The News. Former Interior Minister said that the closure of markets and shops at 7 pm would be an "economic death knell" for shopkeepers, for which the current "imported" government would be responsible. Ahmed also pointed out that the Pakistani rupee had depreciated to 210 to a dollar while it was trading at 220 to a dollar in Hawala. He warned that the finance minister was about to give "another shot" of a price hike to the nation, reported Geo News. Former Interior Minister further said in such a situation, former Prime Minister Imran Khan is the "only popular leader" in the country, while the one-dozen political parties in the ruling coalition have fallen out of public favor. "Only Imran Khan has touched the hearts and minds of the people," he said. "The current imported government is another name for vested interests. This is a conglomerate of thieves," Ahmed added. Earlier, the Pakistan government ordered Markets across Sindh province have been ordered to shut down at 9 pm (local time) to save electricity amid constant power outages in the country. Frequent load-shedding across the country has left the people to suffer sweltering high temperatures. The Shehbaz Sharif government has blamed its predecessor Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the energy shortfall. The measures are being imposed to reduce the shortfall between the supply and demand of electricity. The government notification said the morning hours must be utilized for business activities. Earlier this week, several Pakistan federal ministers urged the traders to adopt austerity measures to reduce the wastage of fuel and electricity. This report about the government order comes amid Pakistan's mounting concerns over the growing energy crisis. Due to Pakistan's inability to make payments to the Chinese power supplies, the country lies in the abyss of electricity outages which is disrupting life and business amid this unbearable heatwave. They have shut down multiple plants because the Pakistani government has failed to pay dues to the tune of 300 billion rupees (USD 1.5 billion). (ANI)
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