Management demands protection against hooliganism

The Karachi Electric Supply Company has condemned what it says in a press release the criminal negligence of local law enforcing agencies in protecting life of KESC officials at the head offices of the power utility on Wednesday. It has said it expects the Provincial and Federal governments to intervene and perform their duty of protecting the employees from the hooliganism of outside elements.
The KESC said that hundreds of "goonda elements" attacked KESC head offices at Gizri on Wednesday morning and forced their way into the office buildings. They held the employees inside hostage and physically attacked the top management officials on duty in the head-office building and ransacked equipment and property and torched the vehicles.
"Many KESC officials on duty were seriously injured in the attack. The police and other law enforcement agencies were duly informed by the KESC management but they stood there watching the scene as silent spectators and did not act even after hours of the start of attack. The hooligans were physically attacking the duty personnel freely who were totally at their mercy with no rescue. This is a naked and flagrant display of lawlessness where local administration has conspired by giving the hooligans a free hand.
"As the City administration failed to protect the life and property of KESC employees despite several calls and intimations, the KESC expects that the provincial and federal authorities would take the matter into their hands and provide safety to the KESC officials. The KESC said that the hooliganism could adversely affect the generation, transmission and distribution system of electricity to the City which was the prime interest of the utility.
"The hooligans have threatened that they could attack load dispatch centre which would be detrimental to the whole electricity supply system. In this situation, the government had a responsibility to save the KESC installations as well as the life and property of the utility's employees. This is a direct threat to the private investors of KESC and would make a negative impact on foreign investors too who have already invested so much in the country," the press release concluded.