KARACHI: Senior Finance and Energy Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has held Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Federal Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif and Minister of State Abid Sher Ali and the federal government responsible for the electricity crisis in Sindh saying that the federal government is least concerned about Sindh problems.

The minister was speaking at a press conference at the Committee Room No-1 of the Assembly building on Tuesday along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro, energy secretary Agha Wasif Hussain and director of information Yusuf Kaboro.

He recalled that they had repeatedly drawn attention of the prime minister and the federal ministers towards long duration of loadshedding and the worst energy crisis but to no avail. “We have exercised all constitutional and legal means and if there will be a need to go to court to get our rights, we will go and if there is a need to lodge protest, we will also protest.”

Expressing grief and sorrow over hundreds of deaths from heatwave and loadshedding, the minister pointed out that one month back on May 13 the Sindh government had forewarned the federal government about the need to take notice of the issues which could arise from the coming summer and loadshedding, but the federal government and its ministries and ministers instead of coming to aid to the Sindh government started creating hurdles in its way.

In reply to a question, he said that during seven years rule in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party had given 250 megawatts to the system. Besides the Nooriabad power plant of 100MW would be ready by September whose electricity would be added to the KE system.

In reply to a question, he said that K-Electric was privatised in 2005 but the Sindh government was kept in the dark and even today, 26 per cent shares in the K-Electric were held by the federal government and three directors on its board were appointed by them, but there was no director on the K-Electric board from the Sindh government.

He said in Karachi there were 1,450 feeders but only 100 were repaired.

During the press conference a photographer of a TV channel fell unconscious because of heatstroke.

The minister claimed that the federal government was not allowing Sindh to work on solar and wind energy projects by not providing tariff.

Similarly, the windmill power projects were discouraged by reducing its tariff from 13 cents to nine cents.

The minister also distributed copies of letters written by the chief minister and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to the prime minister and Federal Minister Khawaja Asif and informed the media that Khawaja Asif and Abid Sher Ali were giving it a political colour and hurling allegations that people of Sindh did not pay electric bills. He said that the people of Sindh being issued inflated electricity bills which could not be allowed.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2015

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