PTI will improve Karachi power distribution system in 'record time': Asad Umar.

ISLAMABAD -- Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday said the lack of a proper power transmission and distribution system in Karachi was the reason behind increased load shedding in the metropolis and promised that the federal government will improve it in 'record time'.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Umar said the main reason behind a weak distribution and transmission system was the apathy of previous governments, including those led by the PPP and the PML-N.

The minister said "the work they [previous governments] did not do then is being done now".

"The cabinet committee on energy called emergency meetings and summoned officials from KE, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC). Agreements were made and implementation will be done in record time."

Umar said the opposition had termed the K-Electric chairperson as a "mafia", adding that they were giving the impression that the power utility had been privatised during the PTI government.

"It was privatised during the PML-Q government. Then the PPP was in government for five years and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was prime minister. [The PPP] should tell us why they let such a corrupt outfit run the company. Then PML-N came into power. We will ask Khawaja Asif who was the then energy minister why they did not take action for five years."

The planning minister said his government was being told that the PPP could end load shedding within six months if the power utility was handed over to them.

Referring to the PPP's government in Zulfiqar Bhutto's era, he recalled how there was no electricity in Karachi the entire night and they found out in the morning that there had been a coup and General Zia had taken over. "They have been involved in load-shedding for 35 years," he said.

Explaining what he said was the reason behind excessive load shedding in Karachi, the minister said Karachi's power needs kept increasing over time but previous governments did not take any step to either increase electricity production in Karachi or to create a system to import it from elsewhere in country.

"Power plants kept increasing throughout the country but Karachi could not take electricity from them because the transmission and distribution system to do that was not created."

Umar claimed that the energy minister in the previous government...

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