KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi has announced a plan hold a sit-in outside the K-Electric head office on Friday against the prolonged power outages in the city.
JI Karachi chief Engr Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced this at a presser at Idara Noor-e-Haq, here Thursday. Later, hundreds of women in Baldia Town area of Karachi held a protest demonstration against the private company that enjoys a monopoly for the past 17 years in connection with distribution of electricity in the mega city.
The demonstration was held following a women convention in connection with local bodies’ polls in the city.
Protestors, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against the KE and the government for its support to the private company, owned by the now defunct Abraaj Group.
It is pertinent to mention here that the group has been surrounded by controversies in various countries of the Middle East as well as the United States. The owner of the group has also been arrested, bailed and currently was fighting extradition to the US to face a trial on 16 counts. It is also pertinent to mention here that at least two managing partners of the firm had pleaded guilty and received jail terms as well as fines.
Addressing the protest demonstration, the JI leader said that the party is going to hold the sit-in against the company as well as the government and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority over their extraordinary support to the KE despite its corrupt practices.
The JI leader said that a case has been pending before the apex court against the KE for the past five years.
He appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the situation and get a relief for Karachiites already suffering from over billing, prolonged power outages and other corrupt practices by the KE.
He said that the KE mints billions of rupees in the name of fuel adjustment but none of its plants are run on furnace oil.
He asked the ruling parties to disclose why the private company was supplied gas without any agreement.
Engr Naeemur Rehman demanded of the government to hold forensic audit of the KE accounts, particularly in connection with fuel adjustment and sale, purchase of fuel between the KE and Byco as both the companies were owned by Abraaj Group, infamous for fraudulent activities.
Lambasting the NEPRA, Engr Naeemur Rehman said that apparently the regulatory authority has purposely neglected the power crises in Karachi and its only function in Karachi was to bless the KE under different heads. He recalled that the authority had announced to send a delegation to Karachi after Eid-ul-Fitr in connection with recovering more than Rs 42 billion clawback from the KE but the announcement never materialized due the reasons only known to the Nepra.
He asked the regulatory authority to explain why Bin Qasim plant 3 of the KE has not become functional despite multiple announcements since 2018.
The JI leader further said that the political parties mandated from Karachi in the past have kept tight lipped against the KE because they are hand in gloves with the power company and they themselves had imposed the mafia on the megalopolis.
He further said that the then Karachi Electric Supply Corporation was privatized in order to end loadshedding, subsidies and losses.
However, he said, despite the passage of 17 long years, the loadshedding has increased, the subsidy for the KE has also increased by some 5,000 percent, whereas the power generation has only increased by 17 percent but the revenue of the company has increased 600 times.
He added that the statistics are an eye opener for masses to know what is the level of affairs behind the unannounced accord among the KE and several political parties.
He said that the massive subsidies, prolonged power outages and corrupt practices by the KE merit the company to be nationalized and a judicial inquiry be launched against the company.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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