Pak opposition rejects 'fake inquiry' in massive power outage

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 16 : Calling for an impartial inquiry, opposition in Pakistan Senate rejected an inquiry by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) into the recent countrywide power breakdown.
"If the appointments in NEPRA are made by the federal government then how can they ask the regulator to hold an inquiry against them?" said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman, Dawn reported
"We reject this fake inquiry as obviously nothing will come of it and I guarantee that after two-and-a-half years the government will still say that we are in crisis because of the last government," she added.
Rehman also asked the government why the power sector is collapsing, why its circular debt has ballooned or why the country's total debt has reached unprecedented proportions.
"No one is credibly answering key questions on what led to the breakdown of our power sector. The blackout we witnessed reminded us of the blackouts in wartime in my childhood. Yet here, Tabahi Sarkar (Destructive government) let this situation continue for three days, but we are yet to see a response to this in parliament. Who is going to take the responsibility for this?" she asked.
The PPP leader also highlighted that the country's circular debt was rising due to unprecedented mismanagement, and regretted that Pakistan was facing a gas crisis.
The government, on the other hand, held the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP governments responsible for the state of power sector, according to Dawn.
Minister for Energy Omar Ayub slammed the opposition for its hue and cry over the power outage, claiming that it had happened eight times during PML-N's five years in power.
He said that the opposition were shedding crocodile tears because they had not improved the power system when they were in power.
"The nation will have to pay the price of wrong policies of the PML-N till 2023," he remarked, adding that the party had 'laid mines in the power sector'.
On January 9, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and other cities were plunged into darkness, leaving the masses in shock and panic due to the power failure.
It took the government over 24 hours to restore the power supply restored in parts of Pakistan.
Pakistan's Central Power Generation Company on Sunday suspended seven officials of Guddu Thermal Power Station on account of negligence during their duties which caused the power failure, reported Daily Pakistan.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat had tweeted attributing the blackout to the tripping of the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) system.
Following the blackout, citizens took to social media to vent their ire on the situation and mocked Prime Minister Imran Khan for his inability to handle the crises Pakistan is going through.