• Lawmakers pass the bill without debate
• House passes resolution urging govt to condemn India for suspending Indus Waters Treaty
ISLAMABAD: Days before presentation of the federal budget for the next fiscal year, the National Assembly on Thursday passed an IMF-dictated money bill through a supplementary agenda and without any debate.
The Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Bill, 2025, aimed at providing legal justification for the grid levy imposed on the supply of natural gas or imported liquefied natural gas to industrial captive power plants (CPPs) as of March 7, was tabled by Minister for Petroleum Division Ali Pervaiz after the house suspended the rules.
The minister moved the motion for the passage of the bill soon after presentation of the report of the standing committee on petroleum by its chairman Mustafa Mehmood. The bill cleared all the required stages in just one day as the committee had also approved it in a meeting held minutes before start of the NA session.
The opposition challenged the ruling of the chair on the motion allowing the minister to present the bill for passage, but faced a 99-44 vote defeat after the headcount.
Earlier on May 17, the NA had passed the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024.
According to an official handout, during the meeting of the NA Standing Committee on Petroleum on Thursday morning, the petroleum minister gave a detailed briefing on the bill, highlighting its significance as part of Pakistan’s commitments under the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility.
He noted that while the phase-out of captive power generation had long been under consideration, its implementation had been delayed due to prolonged political and economic constraints.
The minister emphasised that transitioning industries from captive power systems to the national grid was intended to optimise surplus electricity generation, improve efficiency in the power sector, and relieve financial pressures on the economy.
The minister informed the committee that a comprehensive consultation process had been completed in drafting the bill and acknowledged the instrumental role played by the NA speaker in facilitating this process.
He assured the committee that the bill was aimed at serving public interest without disrupting industrial operations and that protections for the industrial sector had been incorporated. He also highlighted high electricity prices as a major concern and underscored the need to fulfill public demand through grid supply.
It may be recalled that the government had already enforced the law through an ordinance and in March it had notified an increase in gas rates for industrial CPPs by about 23pc and scale down temptation for a substantial cut in power rates to get the policy negotiations going with the IMF in March this year.
Since the ordinance was about to complete its constitutional life, it was necessary for the government to get its approval from the National Assembly. Since it was a money bill, it was not required to be passed by the Senate.
However, the Senate committee on finance, which was only required to give recommendations to the NA, approved it without making any recommendations on May 16.
Resolution
Besides this, the National Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution calling on the government to strongly condemn India’s unilateral decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), terming it a clear violation of the agreement and an “act of war.”
The resolution was presented by Minister for Water Resources Mueen Wattoo after a brief debate on the matter before the chair, Abdul Qadir Patel of the PPP, read out prorogation order of the president, thus announcing the end of the summer session which had begun on May 5.
In their speeches, the lawmakers criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for suspending the treaty and accused him of acting with a hostile mindset.
The lawmakers also condemned the school bus attack in Khuzdar, blaming India for supporting the attackers.
Earlier, the proceedings of the assembly remained suspended for few minutes during the Question Hour when PTI Iqbal Afridi pointed out lack of quorum.
Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025
