‘Good day for Pakistan’: Energy minister says deal reached with KP to address power woes, theft

Minister for Energy Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said Monday that the federal government has reached an agreement regarding electricity issues with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. He said the development marked a “good day for Pakistan and a victory for political forces,” Aaj News reported.

Addressing a joint presser with Ali Amin Gandapur, the minister thanked the chief minister of KP for acknowledging shared issues.

CM Gandapur meets federal ministers to discuss electricity-related issues

The minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and other coalition partners took a big step today to “revitalise Pakistan’s economy.”

Laghari said consensus was reached on starting a community-based effort to inform people about how load shedding is caused by power theft and how stopping it will cease load shedding.

He said the model being evolved for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to overcome losses and electrify theft as well as to recover arrears will be replicated in other provinces as well.

Addressing the presser, the chief minister of KP expressed gratitude to the federal government for taking note of their complaints and pledged to collaborate with the energy ministry to lower power outages and thefts.

The Chief Minister said it was also agreed to provide immediate relief to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa till the strategy to overcome losses starts yielding dividends.

He said the provincial government will also go for solarisation in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that electricity losses can be controlled.

He said that financial losses to the federal government and power division resulting from their [provincial government’s] lapses will be reduced.

CM Gandapur meets federal ministers to discuss electricity-related issues

The development comes a day after Gandapur met with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Energy Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Laghari to discuss electricity-related issues.

During the meeting, they deliberated on the current situation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, focusing particularly on load-shedding-related problems.

In a related development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said Saturday that he met Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir at the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) meeting in Islamabad and reiterated his stance not to compromise on the province’s share of resources.

Moreover, he stressed his commitment to providing relief to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Accordingly, he requested that federal funds be released to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as soon as possible.

The SIFC session was attended by top officials, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Asim Munir, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Chief Ministers of all four provinces.

CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur also attended the meeting, who was given a last-minute invite.