The would-be prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has given a nod to his party’s energy plan, tasking senior party leader Khawaja Asif for its implementation since he would be the next minister for water and power.
Electricity load shedding saw an instant increase during the past three days as the shortfall touched 5,300 megawatts (MW). With the temperature rising, the shortfall also picked up and as a result chronic load shedding is being observed in urban and rural areas of the country. The overall power demand is around 15,000 MW while the available supply is only 9,700 MW.
However, experts say Pakistan has the infrastructure and the capacity to produce 21,000 MW of electricity but owing to different reasons, the full capacity production remained a dream.
A well-placed source in the PML-N told Pakistan Today that Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting attended by his party’s senior leaders and some businessmen who would be part of a team which is going to help the government devise and implement the energy plan.
The source said the team briefed Nawaz on the proposed initiatives for short, medium and long-term targets for enhancement of power production which would rid the country of the power crisis.
“The team includes a business tycoon and some other big names while a banker-cum-economist who has also served as minister for finance would lead the team. Senator Ishaq Dar would also be a member of the team. The team briefed Nawaz on the energy plan at length and the PML-N chief looked confident about the plan’s outcome,” the source said.
The source added that Senator Ishaq Dar and Khawaja Asif were also preset during the meeting. He said Sharif asked Dar and Asif to make sure the plan is implemented in letter and spirit and no bureaucratic hurdle undermined it. The PML-N chief assured the meeting that his government would be fully backing this plan to get the country out of the crisis, the source added.
The source further said Nawaz told the meeting that ending load shedding would be the top priority of his government and he hoped that the energy plan would help his government to redress the issue which had hit the country’s economy hard; with millions left unemployed while industry had been shifted to other countries.
“Nawaz Sharif also lauded the support and keenness of the business community for redressing the power crisis. He said if his government continued enjoying support from patriotic businessmen, issues faced by the people at large would be tackled and the country would be on the path of progress,” the source quoted the PML-N chief as saying.
