KARACHI, Sept 21: The opposition on Thursday hit out at the government for prolonged and persistent power breakdowns and accused it of protecting the KESC’s foreign management which it said had failed to provide relief to the people.

A statement issued by leader of opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said that the issue of the government’s continual constitutional violation would be taken up in the Senate, adding that the power utility would be held accountable before parliament.

The federal government, he said, was continuously protecting KESC’s management despite its having plunged Karachi into its worst-ever power crisis.

He said the KESC had contended in a petition before the Sindh High Court that he (Raza Rabbani) had raised the matter in Senate and it was referred to a Standing Committee, therefore, the court should allow parliament to take its course.

Clarifying the position, he said, the issue was raised on May 13 through an adjournment motion and it was taken up on June 2 and referred to the Senate’s standing committee on water and power.

"The regime, protecting the KESC’s management, has failed to call a meeting of the committee. Members of the committee signed a requisition on June 16. Under the Constitution and Senate rules, a meeting should have been called within 14 days, but not later than June 30," he said. Criticising the government, he said that no meeting had been called till now.

He said it on record that when two attempts were made to convene the meeting, the minister and the secretary of the ministry of water and power had made themselves ‘unavailable’. He said that 60 days had passed since then and the government is continuously violating the Constitution and rules to protect the KESC’s foreign management. He also condemned the KESC’s attempt to mislead the court.