Pakistani PM chairs emergency meeting on energy crisis

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani called a high level emergency meeting Monday to discuss energy crisis in the country, which led to strikes and demonstrations in several cities including the capital Islamabad, officials said. Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse hundreds of protestors against the gas shortage and hike in gas price in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Angry demonstrators pelted stones at police vehicles and smashed glasses of several vehicles. Local media reported that six patients died in Peshawar as they could not be transferred to hospitals due to road blockade by demonstrators. Demonstrators in the capital and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi blocked the main road to the Islamabad International Airport for several hours. People could not find public transport as transporters had called strike against the ban on use of gas in public transport and the January 1st increase in the gas prices. Attendance in governmental and private offices and educational institutions was thin as people could not find transport to reach to workplace. Opposition lawmakers walked out of the National Assembly Monday evening against the gas shortage and the increase in its tariffs. The people also protested against the power supply shortage across the country. Prime Minister Gilani presided over a meeting of Energy Committee to review the contingency plan for power generation, an official statement said. During the meeting, the situation related to the rise in the electricity demand and the emerging decline in hydro-electric production due to the canals closure in winter season were discussed, the statement said. The Prime Minister directed the Energy Committee comprising Finance Minister, Minister for Water and Power, Minister for Petroleum, Governor State Bank and Deputy Chairman Planning to formulate a programme for minimizing the loadshedding and maximizing the production of electricity during the canals closure. It was decided in the meeting to take steps with regard to utilization of existing thermal generation capacity with focus on more efficient plants to reduce the cost of production and consequently in a bid to lessen the burden on consumers, the statement said.