Federal Minister Lt General (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch said on Friday that they are all responsible for the death of more than 1,000 people in Karachi due to heat wave, and the federal government is fully cooperating with Sindh regime on the heatstroke issue.
“It is prime responsibility of Sindh government to monitor such incidents seriously,” he said while addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Cub. The minister said that K-Electric and WAPDA are fully responsible for power outages; however, they are making effort to fulfill their responsibilities. He also remarked that even though federal government feels responsible, health and several other departments were devolved to provinces following the 18th Amendment. Hence, the Sindh government is responsible for handling such issues.”
Baloch said that he had come to Karachi to review the probe and furnish a report to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about heatstroke tragedy. He added that Sindh government looks unhappy over federal government’s measures in this regard. He said strict action will be taken against the NEPRA and K-Electric’s responsible officers. He also said that K-Electric, KWSB and Sindh government are responsible for increase in heatwave mortality.
Baloch dismissed assertion of K-Electric’s Chief Executive that load shedding is not being carried out in 98% areas of Karachi as totally baseless
State Minister for Health Sciences, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar said that the federal government was ready to give more assistance to Sindh government. She also pointed out that the largest number of victims of heatstroke were aged citizens and drug addicts.
