PPP protests against prolonged power cuts in Peshawar

The local PPP leadership along with party workers set up a day-long protest camp outside the Peshawar Press club

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday staged a protest against excessive power outages in Peshawar and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) failure to control the outages.

The local PPP leadership including its provincial president Humayun Khan, Arbab Alamgir, Asma Alamgir and Liaqat Shabab, along with party workers had set up a day-long protest camp outside the Peshawar Press club.

Party workers carried placards and shouted slogans against the PML-N. Humayun said that his party would continue its protest against excessive power cuts, noting that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto had already given a green signal in this regard.

“The PML-N during its tenure has been unable to start any mega projects,” Humayun said.

“Shehbaz Sharif had said that he would change his name if he did not end load shedding within six months. Today, we will choose a suitable name for him.”

The PPP Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter chief said his party had initiated a number of power projects but none of those projects had been completed during PML-N tenure.

“There have bpower outages of almost 18 hours every day in Peshawar,” said Arbab, a senior PPP leader from Peshawar.

He lamented that the last mega electricity project in the country had been completed over 40 years ago while demand for power had been increasing with each passing day.

Arbab further said that the country required mega hydel projects, not thermal power plants since the people and the government cannot afford generating power by burning furnace oil.

The former communications minister said that the electricity shortfall in the country was still the same as it was when PML-N took over in 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2017.