ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has held federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan responsible for the recent countrywide power breakdown.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi said the power breakdown occurred recently due to the incapability of Omar Ayub.

“Many parts of the country are still experiencing power loadshedding of up to 18 hours,” he said.

He said that Omar Ayub, who had been part of most governments in the past, had blamed the previous government in the Senate for his own incapability.

Kundi claims some areas still experiencing hours-long loadshedding

“He (Omar Ayub) started his career from the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) and then joined the PML-Q and General Musharraf and now he is in the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf). Omar Ayub possesses an investor’s Iqama from the United Arab Emirates, but has not declared the amount of his investment there,” he said.

Accompanied by PPP leaders Palwasha Khan and Nazir Dhoki at the news conference, Mr Kundi said that a former member the National Assembly and PML-N leader Babar Nawaz had lodged a case against Omar Ayub Khan accusing him of concealing his assets.

He warned Omar Ayub that if he resorted to personal attacks “we reserve the right to respond in kind.”

“Omar Ayub does not answer the questions about his own corruption but makes tall claims in the parliament. Now the PPP has decided to approach courts against the corruption of PTI,” he said.

The PPP information secretary said 200 experts Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed to have were nowhere to be seen and the country’s economy is going downhill. The cost of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project of Peshawar, which was initially Rs29 billion, has now exceeded Rs100bn.

“Imran Khan had claimed that he will bring respect to the green passport but just yesterday a PIA plane was impounded in Malaysia and Pakistan became a laughing stock in the world,” he said.

Palwasha Khan said that Omar Ayub had been criticising the PPP because he was not allowed to join that party. She said that Imran Khan was needlessly bringing the army into politics as just yesterday he said that the army was a nursery of politicians.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2021