KARACHI: A Sindh Assembly committee on Wednesday summoned the chief executive officer of K-Electric, directing him to appear before the panel on June 3 along with his educational degrees and experience certificates.

The committee also warned that if he failed to appear on the given date he would be liable to be sent to prison for six months.

The meeting of the committee was presided over by its chairman Javed Nagori and attended by Shaharyar Mahar, Sajid Jokhio, Shaheena Baloch, Khurram Sherzaman, Saifuddin Khalid and Nishat Mohammad Qadri.

KE deputy director Abdul Hameed Bhatti was also present.

Expressing anger over the failure of KE’s chief executive to attend the meeting, the committee members said the meeting was meaningless in his absence.

The chair did not allow the KE representative to speak and adjourned the meeting for June 3.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nagori criticised the power utility for its non-serious attitude in the face of a massive electricity crisis and “enjoying” the miseries and hardship of the people in this sizzling weather.

“As we have doubts about the capability of K-Electric officials they ought to bring their [academic] degrees in the next meeting. The K-Electric is running its affairs with vandalism and therefore its CEO did not turn up to respond to our 17 questions. We give three days to the KE management to appear before the committee,” he added.

The KE representative said that the CEO could not make it to due to his pressing engagements.

Mr Mahar said the committee could initiate action on this attitude of the CEO and send him to prison for six months.

Another member, Mr Qadri, said despite prolonged loadshedding the KE was sending inflated bills to its consumers.

Later, Mr Nagori told newsmen that the KE wanted to create a law and order situation in the city.

“We will not tolerate the utility’s ... excesses with the people,” he said, adding that the federal government was responsible for loadshedding in entire Sindh.

Recently, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani had constituted the house committee to monitor KE with representatives of every parliamentary party in the house.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2017