Load shedding will not end by 2018: Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif said on Friday that load shedding in the country would not end by 2014, however, it would decrease.

Speaking with reporters, Mr Asif said Pakistan was incurring Rs1,000 billion in annual loss from power generation. According to Mr Asif, government institutions in Sindh had defaults of Rs53 billion, Azad Kashmir Rs5 billion, Punjab Rs4 billion and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs1 billion.

The water and power minister said it was expected that Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would clear their electricity defaults by June. The federal minister, however, expressed reservations over Sindh and Azad Kashmir clearing their defaults.

Khawaja Asif added that the federal government had directed provinces to appoint a time for the early closure of markets.