PESHAWAR – The energy conference convened by the Awami National Party had nothing new to satisfy the enraged masses, but it was based on only the past hollow slogans of the politicians to mislead the electricity loadshedding-stricken people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The main opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan People Party-Sami, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has boycotted the All Parties Conference under the auspices of ANP and termed it a wastage of time as the Awami National Party-led coalition government has already reined for almost four-and-a-half years in the province as a senior partner of Pakistan People’s Party and as a junior partners in the center.
The opposition has also a reservation that despite the claim of Awami National Party that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has great share in the national grid system then why the Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti agreed on the term equitable loadshedding during a resolution in the meeting of council of common interest.
Despite the boycott of the main opposition parties, the coalition partners and other nationalist parties including National Party and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party participated in the energy conference being held in Chief Minister House Annexi on Thursday. Different proposals from different political parties came under discussion during the conference, in which no new thing came on the surface but all of these were the old sayings of the political pundits to divert the public attention.
Some proposed that wind energy projects should be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while others said that gas projects should be initiated to generate electricity. Others suggested speedy work on hydel projects. Though the suggestions and proposals were valuable in the conference yet it will take long time to be implemented, as the incumbent government should start practical work on these projects soon after winning February 2008 election.
The recommendations put forward by the energy conference will have little time to consider by the federal government and then approved by the Prime Minister and then Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the time running past and the incumbent set up have few months to go. So convening the energy conference without taking practical steps is futile exercise and wastage of time.
Either they were not aware of this situation before, were they enjoying the corridor of power when they came into power, they have no leisure time to convene such kind of energy conferences in their initial time. Though a lot of developmental projects have been completed but what the masses will do with these projects if they have no facility to take rest at night after hectic duties.
The coalition government should divert all of their funds to energy sector from the very beginning as the problems faced by the masses are not new and they were suffering from the very beginning when this government came into power.
So keeping in view the growing energy shortage only short term energy plans should be implemented to provide emergency relief to the masses.
Moreover multiple projects should be launched for overcoming the gap between supply and demand.