ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza has asked sugar mill owners to generate their own power not only for their own consumption but also for the national grid.

Speaking at a dinner party hosted by the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) here on Tuesday, she said prevailing power shortage had negative impact on the sugar industry adding the sugar mills should generate electricity to overcome this problem.

The Speaker said most of the sugar mills were running on their own generated power and had the potential of increasing the capacity and transferring it to the national grid. She asked the government and PSMA to solve the power shortage problem.

“The promotion of sugar industry could generate more jobs in the rural area and add to its prosperity”, the Speaker said.

In a separate meeting with a delegation of journalists of D.I. Khan, the speaker said democracy and media were interdependent phenomenon and the government was committed to a free and independent media.

She lauded the role of media in struggle for restoration of democracy. —Staff Reporter