Powerless: Govt admits own defeat as it protests load-shedding in Karachi

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah along with his cabinet members and lawmakers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) staged a sit-in on Wednesday in front of the Sindh Assembly building. The opposition members did not participate in their protest against load-shedding in the city and other parts of the province.

PPP lawmakers shouted slogans against the private electricity utility, K-Electric, state-owned utilites in the rest of the province and the federal ministry for water and power.

Speaking to the media later, Shah demanded federal water and power minister Khawaja Asif to either resign or end load-shedding in Sindh. "The federal government and its minister, Khawaja, are responsible for the deaths in Karachi," he claimed. "They will compensate the victims' families." Shah pointed out that the federal government privatised Karachi Electric Supply Company in 2005 and it still owns 26 per cent of the shares in K-Electric. "It cannot run away from the responsiblity of controlling the affairs of K-Electric," said the CM, adding that they will continue to protest until the situation improves. The protest was wrapped up in 15 minutes.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2015.