Rocky times on repeat: PESCO awaits govt’s response before taking Farman to court

Info minister Shah Farman earlier accused the utility’s officials of electricity theft.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) claimed legal action is being considered against Minister for Information Shah Farman for “interrupting” company affairs.

According to Pesco spokesperson Shaukat Afzal, Chief Executive Tariq Sadozai held a meeting with his legal staff at Wapda House on Monday and decided to initiate legal action against the provincial minister. A letter has been written to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, asking the government to take action on the “Farman episode”.

“Pesco has decided to wait for the government’s response; taking the issue to court is also under consideration,” said Afzal.



During a raid on Sunday, Farman alleged Sadozai and other officials were stealing electricity through illegal connections at their residences.

“This (act) is below the belt – an act of harrassment. My only fault is ordering a crackdown against power pilferage – amounting to 90% losses – in Farman’s constituency,” Sadozai told The Express Tribune. He said the same minister would have embraced him if he had ignored power theft in Farman’s area.

When asked about allegations about his employment, that he was in his post with the blessing of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Sadozai said, “I have a three-year contract to serve Pesco, half of it has passed. I will carry on and continue to tackle power theft in the region till my last day at work.”

At a news conference at Peshawar Press Club, members of the company’s union sided with their chief. They termed the minister’s raid a “misuse of authority” and said it had created unrest among the staff.

Workers alleged the minister was attempting to foil the ongoing drive against illegal electricity connections as he is part of the ‘kunda culture’.

History repeating itself

Relations between the previous Awami National Party (ANP) government and Pesco were also on the rocks. In July 2012, ANP leader Afrasiab Khattak stated, “Wapda has totally failed and is unable to run the system. The time has come to do away with it and to delegate the subject to the provinces for better management.” He further said it was illogical for Islamabad to manage load-shedding when provinces understand their needs better.

At that time, Sadozai had replied with the oft-repeated statement that power woes were a result of power theft, line losses and non-payment of bills. In another news conference the same year, ANP’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain warned Sadozai to not infuriate the public with claims that the people of K-P were among the top defaulters of electricity bills.

The Pesco chief now faces a similarly, if not more, hostile government.

Recently, the CM asked Sadozai to not to issue ‘misguided’ statements. “He tells me one thing in private and offers contrary views in public about K-P’s power issues,” said Khattak.

The provincial government and centre are presently negotiating the takeover of Pesco by the province which was agreed to by the federal government recently.

Farman could not be reached for comments despite several attempts.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2014.