KARACHI: Amid growing anger among people against K-Electric for the recent power crisis in the city, the Jamaat-i-Islami on Friday staged a protest sit-in outside the head office of the power utility in Gizri and called it a nexus of “powerful mafia and authorities” that had ruined daily life of Karachiites.

It also urged the apex court to take suo motu notice against the company as well as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for “protecting all wrongdoings” of the KE.

A large number of people including women and children carrying placards and shouting slogans attended the sit-in.

They demanded immediate action for the “criminal act” of the company, which had put over 20 million people of Karachi under mental stress.

Addressing the protesters, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman strongly condemned the KE for its “corrupt practices to fulfil its unlimited greed”.

He also slammed Nepra and said that “the institution and its chairman are hands in gloves with the K-Electric” against the Karachiites.

He questioned the monopoly of a private company and the overwhelming and extraordinary support by the government to the KE, which he said was a subsidiary of the defunct Abraaj Group that was “infamous for fraudulent activities as two of its managing partners had pleaded guilty and faced jail terms as well as fines”.

“We appeal to the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice against the KE for its corrupt practices and violations on its part against its contract with the state,” he said.

“Please do something for the relief of Karachiites, who are badly affected due to overbilling, prolonged power outages and other corrupt practices of the KE, which was bound to increase power production by 1,300 megawatt in the first three years of its privatisation, but it increased its production by just 17 per cent in 17 long years,” he said.

He alleged that the KE minted billions of rupees in the name of fuel adjustment charges, but none of its plants were running on furnace oil.

He said that the government was favouring the power utility by supplying it gas without any agreement.

“We demand that the government to carry out forensic audit of the KE accounts,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2022