Protecting federal assets: PM’s adviser slams PTI attacks on grid stations

Muqam establishes new complaint office at PESCO headquarters

PESHAWAR: Establishing a new complaint centre at the Pesco headquarters, Adviser to Prime Minister Amir Muqam lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for attacking grid stations in the provincial capital.

“Was this the change PTI chief Imran Khan promised before elections?” asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa vice president. Speaking to the media at Wapda House on Thursday, Muqam said MPAs attacked federal government assets to hide their own failures. Muqam was referring to recent takeovers of a grid station by protesters led by a PTI MPA.

Forward servicing

Muqam said the Centre has launched a complaint office for consumers at the Pesco head office with grade-17 and grade-18 officers manning the desks. “We want consumers’ complaints to be addressed in their own province so they need not go all the way to Islamabad,” he said. “We will soon be opening similar complaint cells in other districts of the province.” Muqam added the prime minister had instructed him to spend more time in K-P instead of Islamabad.



He slammed the PTI workers’ attack on Industrial Grid Station on Kohat Road and protests outside Hazar Khwani and Tajabad grid stations on Monday and Tuesday. Twice the ruling party’s activists banished Pesco staff and turned on power feeders at Industrial Grid Station to resume supply to their areas. Muqam questioned what action, if any, was taken against MPA Fazal-e-Ilahi who allegedly led the protesters in turning the power back on.

Muqam claimed Imran Khan had forgotten the promises he made to the people of K-P. “Can Imran tell me which hospital is this which treats patients for free? Where is the free education? And where are the 360 hydroelectric dams which he promised?”

Muqam said protesting is the constitutional right of every citizen, but the demonstrators must do some soul searching. The grid stations are assets of the country and the K-P police didn’t register FIR against PTI activists and leaders who attacked them, he added.

Talking about the energy crisis, Muqam said the PML-N government was working on turning darkness into light.

Touching upon the Chinese president’s recent visit, he said the agreements were for the benefit of the whole country and K-P will have its share. To a question on overbilling and Pesco staff’s alleged involvement in power thefts, Muqam said they are trying to root out the black sheep and recruiting new people by the hundreds. “We prefer to recruit linemen and other technical staffers from their own areas.”

He added that they will be increasing the number of transformer repair workshops from one to eight.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2015.