Power play: PESCO faces stick without the carrot
PML-N politico booked for allegedly manhandling utility staffers.
Minister for Labour Shah Farman presented a copy of the FIR in front of the media at the press club against the mob.
PESHAWAR:
Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) staffers have once again been at the receiving end of mob violence, this time apparently at the hands of a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz office-bearer. This comes only a few weeks after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers stormed grid stations and switched on feeders by force.
PML-N provincial information secretary Nasir Musazai and his armed squad allegedly approached Pesco staffers busy installing a transformer on Phandu Road on Monday and detained them for five hours.
Following which, Musazai, who also happens to be a member of the company’s board of directors, was booked by the provincial government for hooliganism. In a press conference the same day, Minister for Labour Shah Farman presented a copy of the FIR in front of the media at the press club.
Talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, a PESCO official said Musazai ordered the Pesco staff to stop working on the transformer on Phandu Road and repair the one installed in his area. “He took them into custody when they refused to comply,” he said, adding staffers follow directives from senior officials after paperwork is completed for complaints.
Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Workers Union General Secretary Mustajab Mazduryar lambasted the PML-N leader for the act on Tuesday. “When the staffers approached the local police station to register an FIR, the police refused to cooperate,” he said.
The flip side
Musazai refuted the claims and termed the allegations baseless.
Giving his version of the incident, the PML-N leader said he rescued the Pesco workers from the mob. “For the past 20 days a transformer is in a state of disrepair in Pandu Payan and they are dodging complaints,” he said. “Locals had encircled the workers while I helped them avoid the stampede; I did not detain them for a second,” he said.
Monday night was a night of ‘mob justice’ for Pesco officials.
During a drive against illegal connections in Tajabad sub-division, Pesco staff and police arrested Adil and Murtaza, residents of Pawaka village, for stealing electricity. Soon a large number of people gathered around them and freed the two detainees by force. On Tuesday a statement issued by company spokesperson Shaukat Afzal said the accused were fined Rs20,000 and put behind bars.
Similarly in Hangu sub-division, a Pesco team was removing an illegal connection of a tube well when Shaheen, a resident of Toogh Saraja, attacked them. He was later arrested and an FIR registered against him.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Afzal said the drives will continue despite the opposition they face. He said the company is cracking down against electricity theft for the greater good of the country – to put an end to the inconvenience caused by outages to those who pay regularly.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2015.
Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) staffers have once again been at the receiving end of mob violence, this time apparently at the hands of a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz office-bearer. This comes only a few weeks after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers stormed grid stations and switched on feeders by force.
PML-N provincial information secretary Nasir Musazai and his armed squad allegedly approached Pesco staffers busy installing a transformer on Phandu Road on Monday and detained them for five hours.
Following which, Musazai, who also happens to be a member of the company’s board of directors, was booked by the provincial government for hooliganism. In a press conference the same day, Minister for Labour Shah Farman presented a copy of the FIR in front of the media at the press club.
Talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, a PESCO official said Musazai ordered the Pesco staff to stop working on the transformer on Phandu Road and repair the one installed in his area. “He took them into custody when they refused to comply,” he said, adding staffers follow directives from senior officials after paperwork is completed for complaints.
Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Workers Union General Secretary Mustajab Mazduryar lambasted the PML-N leader for the act on Tuesday. “When the staffers approached the local police station to register an FIR, the police refused to cooperate,” he said.
The flip side
Musazai refuted the claims and termed the allegations baseless.
Giving his version of the incident, the PML-N leader said he rescued the Pesco workers from the mob. “For the past 20 days a transformer is in a state of disrepair in Pandu Payan and they are dodging complaints,” he said. “Locals had encircled the workers while I helped them avoid the stampede; I did not detain them for a second,” he said.
Monday night was a night of ‘mob justice’ for Pesco officials.
During a drive against illegal connections in Tajabad sub-division, Pesco staff and police arrested Adil and Murtaza, residents of Pawaka village, for stealing electricity. Soon a large number of people gathered around them and freed the two detainees by force. On Tuesday a statement issued by company spokesperson Shaukat Afzal said the accused were fined Rs20,000 and put behind bars.
Similarly in Hangu sub-division, a Pesco team was removing an illegal connection of a tube well when Shaheen, a resident of Toogh Saraja, attacked them. He was later arrested and an FIR registered against him.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Afzal said the drives will continue despite the opposition they face. He said the company is cracking down against electricity theft for the greater good of the country – to put an end to the inconvenience caused by outages to those who pay regularly.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2015.