KARACHI, June 25: Leader of the opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani on Saturday slammed the continuing loadshedding in the city and warned that it could lead to violent reaction from the people due to what he termed callous and criminal silence of the regime.

In a statement issued here by the Bilawal House Media Cell, Mr Rabbani, who is also PPP’s Deputy Secretary General, alleged that the government had failed to meet power, water and other needs of the people therefore it should quit immediately otherwise the harassed and exploited people would take to the streets and force it to pack up.

He pointed out that two months earlier Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, federal ministers and other federal and provincial functionaries, and the city district government of Karachi had assured that come what may there would be no loadshedding in the city. But contrary to the assurances, loadshedding had become more frequent and prolonged.

He pointed out that during the past 96 hours Pakistan’s biggest city and abode for more than 13 million people remained plunged into darkness most of the time due to prolonged and unannounced loadshedding.

Karachiites get electricity from KESC system only for a few hours during the 24 hour cycles, he said adding that power outage in sizzling hot weather was having a telling effect on all segments of the society and normal life has been disrupted and industrial production was seriously undermined.

Mr Rabbani claimed that during Benazir government when it was announced that there would be no loadshedding by the KESC, no one dared to defy that order. But under the present rulers, he alleged that the situation was rapidly getting out of hand as the authorities had failed to stop loadshedding.

Mr Rabbani claimed that in view of the flawed privatisation of the KESC, the government lacked moral ground to give any directive to the new management of the power utility.

He alleged that “country managers” of foreign financial institutions, and not the representatives of the people, were occupying all important decision making posts in the country. He alleged that such elements had sold Pakistan Steel at throw away price and were contemplating to make a large section of workforce jobless. He alleged that such elements were trying to push the country to the brink of disaster by denying water and power to the people.He assured that the PPP would safeguard workers’ interests and would not let national assets to pass into foreign hand.