Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur sharply criticized the federal government for the persistent electricity load shedding in the province. The criticism came after protests erupted in major cities on the third day of Eidul Azha amid a severe heatwave.
Speaking at a news conference in Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, CM Gandapur expressed his frustration over the federal government’s failure to address the electricity crisis. He handed over a 12-hour load shedding schedule to grid station officials and accused Wapda officials of mistreating the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The Chief Minister did not hold back in his criticism of the ruling PML-N, warning that if the issue of unbridled power outages persisted, he would take steps to halt the electricity supply. Gandapur stressed that the federal government had stolen the mandate and neglected its responsibilities, particularly in addressing the province’s electricity and financial issues.
Gandapur stated that despite repeated attempts, including a phone call after the deadline, the federal minister did not respond to the province’s urgent requests regarding unannounced load shedding. He accused the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) of mistreating KP and urged residents of Dera Ismail Khan to avoid damaging Pepco’s assets.
The Chief Minister mentioned that he had informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the need for provincial funds, noting that the Centre owed KP Rs 1,600 billion. Gandapur revealed that PM Shehbaz Sharif had sought the province’s support over the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan package.
Gandapur accused the current federal government of coming into power through illegitimate means and warned of potential repercussions if KP’s financial demands were not met. He stated, “Firstly, I want the money of the province to be paid to it, and if it is not paid, we will inform the IMF that they are getting money in our name but not paying to us.”
In a stern warning to the Prime Minister, Gandapur declared, “You are forcing us to push your government out of power. I know how to expel you out of power. No one could prevent us from taking our due rights.”
Gandapur emphasized that it was the federal government’s responsibility to end power load shedding and warned of drastic measures if an uninterrupted power supply was not assured. He suggested that assembly members should personally visit their respective grid stations to restore power in areas experiencing 12-hour load shedding.
The Chief Minister noted that local Wapda officials were cooperating with the provincial government to the best of their capacity but criticized the federal government for further reducing power supply to the province. Gandapur mentioned that there would be another round of talks with the federal government to discuss the power load shedding issue, highlighting the provincial government’s cooperation with Wapda on the issue of line losses.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also commented on the issue, stating that the federal government was not meeting its commitments regarding power supply to Khyber Pakht
