KARACHI, March 19: Expressing deep concern over the prolonged power outages, an all-parties conference held under the auspices of Jamaat-i-Islami blamed the privatisation of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation for it and demanded that further sale of KESC assets be stopped forthwith, while the shares already floated be taken back from its new management.

The demands were made in a resolution adopted at the APC held on “Price hike and load-shedding” at Idara Noor-i-Haq on Wednesday. The representatives of the Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan, Pakistan Democratic Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, Mohajir Rabita Council, and Pakistan Awami Tehrik attended the conference.

The APC also called on the government to withdraw recent increase in petroleum and diesel prices.

Presided over by JI deputy chief Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, the APC held retired General Musharraf responsible for soaring prices of daily use items and increasing unemployment. He pointed out that despite the regime’s tall claims about development through jugglery of figures the deteriorating economic condition was evident in all that the State Bank, World Bank and other institutions portrayed.

In his presidential address, Prof Ghafoor expressed concern over inordinate delay in summoning the sessions of provincial assemblies and stressed the need for calling the sessions immediately so that the load-shedding issue could be taken up seriously.