Pakistan, June 12 -- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has withdrawn his earlier proposal to impose a 10% surcharge on electricity bills. This reversal surprised many, especially since Pakistan had assured the IMF that the surcharge would help manage circular debt repayments. The announcement came just a day after Aurangzeb suggested the surcharge during his budget speech.

Aurangzeb clarified that the surcharge was originally part of the Power Division's plan but the government no longer intends to implement it. He emphasized that the government is focused on converting expensive credit into cheaper loans to handle the circular debt problem. He also said there will be no surcharge on electricity bills.

He further revealed that the gov...