Sadozai vs Farman: PESCO chief serves arch rival Rs500m defamation notice

Claims information minister’s ‘illegal’ raid caused ‘acute mental torture’.

PESHAWAR: The ongoing tussle between the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and the provincial government took an interesting turn on Monday when Pesco Chief Executive Tariq Sadozai served a Rs500 million defamation notice to Minister for Information Shah Farman.

According to a press release issued by the Wapda House, Sadozai took several significant steps to curb electricity pilferage in the province by launching a wide-ranging campaign that decreased line losses and added to the recovery of dues by consumers.

During the campaign against illegal connections, millions of rupees were recovered. Due to these achievements, some ministers and elected members started protesting against the organisation and launched a media campaign against Pesco, stated the press release.

It added the drive against bill defaulters, some of whom were constituents of Minister for Information Shah Farman, resulted in retaliatory raids in Pesco Colony where Farman, along with some media teams, trespassed and checked the company chief’s premises.

This illegal act committed by the minister caused “acute mental torture” to the Pesco chief, thus, a legal notice of compensation of Rs500 million has been served to Shah Farman through advocates Asad Jan and Shakeel Ahmad, reads the dispatch.

During a raid at Sadozai’s house in Wapda Colony, Nowshera on January 26, the minister claimed to have unearthed two illegal electricity connections which were later denied by the company.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2014.