• Chinese personnel negotiating IPPs were attacked in Karachi.
• FinMin extends condolences to Chinese government, people.
• Single-day strike causes losses worth Rs190 billion, he adds.
  

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Tuesday that Chinese workers killed in an attack near Karachi airport were in talks with the government on Independent Power Producers (IPPs), The News reported.

Three people, including two Chinese nationals, were killed in an explosion near Karachi International Airport on Sunday, while dozens of others were injured.

Addressing a televised speech on Tuesday, he condemned the terrorist attack on Chinese citizens, extending condolences to the Chinese government and people.

The minister said that he, along with Power Minister Awais Leghari, had led negotiations with power companies by requesting them for debt re-profiling and extended maturity, due to which the government might bring a reduction in power tariff.

"The personnel of negotiating IPPs were attacked in Karachi," he said and termed it a highly unfortunate episode.

Pakistan has been renegotiating contracts with independent power producers to rein in electricity tariffs as households and businesses buckle under soaring energy costs.

Losses due to PTI protest

Moving on, the senator has said a single-day strike is estimated to cause cumulative losses of Rs190 billion to the national kitty.

He was referring to the recent strife caused by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), halting economic activities, especially in the twin cities, and other parts of the country last week.

He said the Economic Advisory Wing of the Ministry of Finance assessed the economic losses and came up with a whopping figure of Rs190 billion owing to the halt of economic activities.

He said that on his directives, the Economic Advisory Wing formally calculated the adverse impact, taking into account losses in gross domestic product, tax revenue, law-enforcement costs, business and export losses, foreign direct investment flow and information technology.

The social sector was also affected including hospitals, construction workers, street vendors and taxi drivers. Around 0.8 million people in Islamabad suffered for 2-3 days.

Currently, Pakistan’s total GDP stands at Rs124 trillion, with Q2 estimates at Rs32 trillion and on that basis, the losses were estimated.