ISLAMABAD, June 10: Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power on Monday demanded uniform loadshedding for all strata of the society.

The committee chairman Senator Zahid Khan warned that if the Presidency, Prime Minister House, Supreme Court, GHQ, headquarters of ISI, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and the Judges Colony were kept exempted from the loadshedding, he would resign from the chairmanship of the committee.

Members of the committee, led by Senator Zahid Khan, said only hospitals and some sensitive installations of Army should be exempted.

Common people are facing 12 to 20 hours of loadshedding every day, they said.

Earlier, while briefing the committee, Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) chief Yousuf Awan held electricity shortfall responsible for the loadshedding.

Mr Khan said that if Iesco did not introduce uniform policy, he will resign as chairman of the standing committee. He directed Iesco to end the discrimination within 24 hours and report back to the committee.

The absence of federal minister for water and power and secretary of the ministry annoyed the members of the committee.

They summoned both in next meeting to give a briefing about loadshedding in government offices and residences of government functionaries.

Committee was dissatisfied with the performance of electricity producing companies and instructed that all companies should furnish a list of offices which had been exempted from electricity loadshedding.

“The economy has collapsed and problems are increasing with every passing day. We cannot resolve the issue of loadshedding without introducing uniform policy for all offices,” Mr Khan said.

After the meeting, member of the committee Nisar Mohammad, who belongs to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, while talking to Dawn said: “We have decided to call a meeting of the committee last month and instruct Iesco to start load shedding in the Parliament Lodges. We also instructed that there should be no loadshedding in hospitals but on Monday we came to know that important offices have been availing the facility of electricity round the clock which was unfair,” he said.

“Members of the committee will not allow Mr Khan to resign, however we will ensure implementation of orders of the committee. We will stand along with the nation and will ensure uniform loadshedding all over the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif was held to discuss energy issue in the country.

The minister said that the government had planned a comprehensive programme to overcome the energy crises in the country.

Mr Asif said that all the consumers had equal rights and the government is determined to reduce the load shedding at tolerable level.