‘4,000 MW to be imported from Iran’

LAHORE:

The federal government has inked a deal with Iran under which 4,000 megawatts will be added to the national grid “very soon”, Governor Sardar Latif Khosa said on Thursday.

He said that the PPP-led federal government was doing its best to overcome the energy crisis and end load shedding and so it had struck a deal with the Iranian government while other projects with India and Uzbekistan were under process. The Punjab government had meanwhile signed an agreement with China for a 200 MW hydel project, he added.

Talking to reporters after paying a surprise visit to Shaikh Zayed Hospital here on Thursday, the governor said that it was not acceptable for anyone, including PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif, to give a deadline for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 2.

He said that the commission would be set up with the consent of all stakeholders. He confirmed that the government had received a list of names for the inquiry commission from Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, adding that the names would be considered.

He said that Pakistan’s security forces would now work under the political leadership of the country, which would establish that parliament was the supreme institution in the country.

To a question about Pakistan’s relationship with the United States, the governor said that the US realised Pakistan’s importance and so there was no question of a rupture between the two countries in the foreseeable future. “Some misunderstandings between the two governments will end very soon,” he said.During his visit to the hospital, Khosa heard complaints from some patients admitted in the emergency and orthopaedic wards and directed the hospital administration to resolve their grievances. He also shared some humour with the attendants of the patients to lighten the mood and reduce their nervousness at the surprise inspection.

Later speaking to reporters, the governor said though healthcare was now a provincial concern under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the federal government would continue to try and provide health facilities to the masses.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2011.