LAHORE – Pakistan Muthida Kisan Mahaz (PMKM) Chairman Muhammad Ayub Khan Mayo has voiced opposition to the proposed agreement to import electricity from Tajikistan and indicated it is detrimental to national interest. He added that the government should take advantage of available water resources and construct hydroelectric projects to generate cheaper electricity. According to his reasoning, Pakistan has the capacity to produce 40,000 MW of electricity if it properly utilises its water resources and is itself in a position to export 25,000 MW of electricity if all currently proposed Hydel power projects are constructed.
Addressing a press conference, Mayo alleged that those advocating the agreement were primarily motivated to earn commissions. He said that electricity imported under this agreement would be extremely costly as Pakistan will have to bear all the cost of transmission. He said that there would be a 782 kilometers long transmission line from Tajikistan to Pakistan of which 572 kilometers would be from Peshawar. He questioned that who would be responsible for any disturbance occurred to this transmission line in war-torn Afghanistan.
