LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz fears multiple power breakdown in the country in the run-up to the general election alleging that some unforeseen hands are bent upon diluting the goodwill the party has earned among voters by drastically reducing loadshedding duration.

“You’ll see dozens of incidents of unwarranted large-scale power breakdown in the next couple of months to eclipse our work for controlling the energy crisis because some forces are adamant on thinning out the popularity we have thus gained,” Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Imran Nazeer said in reference to the second power shutdown in Lahore during the ongoing month.

Talking to Dawn here on Tuesday, he also repeated Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan’s allegation that PML-N MPs were receiving phone calls wherein some “unknown” people were asking them to quit the party and join its rivals or at least contest as independents in the upcoming elections.

“There is not a single PML-N ticket-holder in the Jhang, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh districts, which I’m looking after for award of tickets for next polls, who has not received such a call,” he claimed.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...