PTI lawmakers up in arms against outages

As Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa continued to swelter on Monday, with temperatures hovering around 40°C, lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf pledged to go to any extreme in order to force the authorities concerned to implement the load-shedding schedule agreed with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Moreover, they categorically rejected imposition of taxes in the erstwhile FATA and PATA that now stand merged with the province.

Last week, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) had reached an agreement about the revision of the load-shedding schedule to reduce the duration of power suspension across the province.

The development came a day after the K-P chief minister warned the Centre that his government would take over power distribution systems in the province if the prolonged power cuts were not controlled.

The government and Pesco had reached the agreement in a meeting chaired by the chief minister. The participants included provincial chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, Pesco chief executive officer Akhtar Hameed Khan, Peshawar commissioner Riaz Mehsud and other relevant officials, according to an official statement.

It added that according to the newly-agreed schedule, in all areas currently witnessing 22 hours of load-shedding a day, the duration of power suspension would be reduced to 18 hours, while that time would come down to 14 hours a day in the areas enduring 18 hours of load-shedding.

“In order to ensure implementation of the new schedule of power load-shedding in the province, the chief minister directed Pesco authorities to devise a mechanism immediately in consultation with the chief secretary,” read the statement.

PTI senior leaders including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser held a meeting with the chief minister at Wazir House. They deliberated upon the issues related to the federation and unabated electricity load-shedding in the province.

In the meeting, it was decided to raise the issue in the National Assembly and the Senate. The participants of the meeting also expressed concern over the federal government refusal to clear Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s legitimate dues and constitutional rights, including royalties and power arrears. They also decided to raise the matter at the national level.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2024.