During the St. Muslim Month of Ramadan, the Pakistani government did not provide free electricity to residents of the most populous province, contrary to the claims widely shared on social media. An energy official refuted the rumor, while a Punjab resident told AFP separately that he was accused of using his power in March.
“Breaking News: Punjab will be free for one month during Ramadan,” the Urdu Facebook post was posted on February 21, 2025, before Ramadan begins.
Screenshot of False Facebook post, captured on April 18, 2025
Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook, and the post prompted comments that people think of the claim.
“What crimes have been committed in other provinces?” one person replied: “Only Punjab can access such matters.”
Punjab Energy Minister Naeem Rauf told AFP that the local government has not announced any free electricity movement for Ramadan, which begins in late February and ends in late March (a link to archive).
“There is no such plan, and there is currently no plan to provide free electricity for future Ramadans,” Lauf said on April 14.
During this year’s Ramadan, no reference to electricity subsidies has been made to the federal and provincial energy sector’s social media accounts and websites (here, here, here and here archive).
On February 24, local media reported that Energy Minister Awais Leghari guaranteed the uninterrupted power of fasting. During the Holy Moon (archive link), he did not mention “Free Electric”.
An AFP reporter from Lahore, the capital of Punjab, interviewed a resident who also refuted the claim.
“For the March bill, I paid 7,806 Pakistani Rupee (($27)“A 27-year-old video editor said he identified himself as Osama.
Local media Geo TV has previously debunked similar claims (archive link).
