PESHAWAR (HRNW) – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has slammed the federal government for the rampant electricity load shedding in the province after protests erupted in major cities and towns on the third day of Eidul Azha amid ongoing heatwave.
In a statement, the chief minister came down hard on the ruling PML-N, warning that if the issue of the unbridled power outages persisted he would be forced to take steps to halt electricity supply.
Gandapur also accused the WAPDA [Water And Power Development Authority] of unfair treatment towards Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He also insisted that no WAPDA assets were damaged.
The chief minister called upon all KP parliamentarians to convene at WAPDA grids to ensure uninterrupted electricity restoration [for their constituencies].
Asserting the province’s rights, Gandapur reiterated that “money was collected in our province’s name but not returned. No obstacles will deter us from claiming what rightfully belongs to us”.
The chief minister issued a final ultimatum to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, demanding the immediate release of Rs16 billion owed to the province by the federal government. He threatened to approach the IMF if the funds were not disbursed promptly.
“These people have assumed power through illegitimate means. I understand how they came into office and how to remove them,” Gandapur added.
In another statement earlier in the day, Gandapur alleged that the federal government was exacting revenge from the people of the province.
The CM stated that the province was experiencing the worst power shutdowns, adding that the federal government had not fulfilled its commitment to provide the required electricity to the province.
Gandapur mentioned that local Wapda officials were cooperating with the provincial government to the best of their capacity, but it was the federal government that had further reduced power supply to the province.
“There will be another round of talks with the federation to discuss power load shedding. The provincial government is fully cooperating with Wapda on the issue of line losses,” Gandapur said.
The chief minister urged the federal government to correct its attitude towards Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, warning that otherwise, the people of the province would take to the streets to protest.
He added that the federation’s failure to fulfill its commitments was leading to mounting complaints about increasing power outages.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also commented on the issue, stating that the federal government was not meeting its commitments regarding power supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.