Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was setting new democratic traditions and promoting a culture of political dialogue and reconciliation.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he urged the opposition to embrace these traditions, adding that the prime minister had introduced a new political environment not only in Parliament but across the country.
Khawaja Asif said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had jointly enhanced Pakistan’s prestige and dignity at both national and international levels.
He urged all members of the House to acknowledge their contributions without political prejudice.
The minister called on lawmakers to adopt a balanced approach when criticising political opponents and to reflect on mistakes made during their own tenures in office.
He said the Leader of the House was making efforts to build political consensus and strengthen democratic norms.
Referring to the prime minister’s recent invitation for dialogue, he said such initiatives reflected a commitment to fostering cooperation among political forces.
The minister said that all governments over the past 25 to 30 years, including the PTI government, shared responsibility for the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) contracts and the resulting capacity payment burden.
He said the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had successfully renegotiated agreements with IPPs.
Khawaja Asif said the government had succeeded in reducing the financial burden of existing power purchase contracts by approximately Rs3.5 trillion over the remaining life of the agreements.
He added that this relief would benefit consumers and the national economy in the years ahead.
He said attempts to renegotiate the contracts had also been made during the PTI government. According to him, discussions were held with IPP owners at that time, but no breakthrough was achieved, and the power producers ultimately prevailed.
The minister maintained that if the contracts were considered a mistake, then every government that signed or continued them must share responsibility. He said it was neither fair nor ethical to place the entire blame on a single administration while ignoring the role played by previous governments, including PTI.
Khawaja Asif explained that most IPPs were established during the 1990s and the early years of General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf’s government, when Pakistan faced severe electricity shortages.
He said capacity payments were introduced as an incentive to attract investment in the power sector by guaranteeing payments even when electricity generation capacity remained unutilised.
The minister said critics often overlooked the government’s achievement in securing Rs3.5 trillion in relief through negotiations. He added that efforts would continue to further reduce the burden through additional discussions with power producers.
Khawaja Asif urged lawmakers to exercise restraint while discussing issues linked to decisions made during their own tenures in government.