After facing backlash from its citizens over a hike in electricity prices as well as power shortage, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government on Monday apologized to the masses and vowed to rectify the problem of load-shedding.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the government was "sorry" for the ongoing electricity load-shedding in the country and vowed to fix the issue in the coming days, reported Geo News. Former prime minister Abbasi said that the authorities had to opt for a four-hour load-shedding due to shortfall and the government needs time to rectify power shortage.
He said that once coal is imported, load-shedding will move below three hours by June 16, reported Geo News.
In a press conference flanked by federal ministers, Abbasi said the government needed time to rectify the power shortage as the country was producing 21,000 megawatts and there was a shortfall of 4,000 megawatts.
Abbasi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting in this regard and decided to reduce load-shedding to 3.5 hours, adding that additional funds have been released to facilitate power providers.
In the next phase, when coal is imported, load-shedding will move below three hours by June 16, Abbasi said, adding that from June 30, the power outages will be in between 1.5-2 hours only.
He added the government hopes that the duration of the load-shedding will further decrease in July.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government lied to the nation that the power generation capacity of the country was 30,000 megawatts.
"Two big plants that were used to generate cheap electricity were to be completed in 2019 could not be completed till today. Not a single plant has been installed in the last four years," he added.
"Even if all power plants are started, they will not be able to produce 27,000 megawatts combined. Not even 1 kilowatt of energy was generated," said Abbasi, adding that the "country was only safe because of the Qatar agreements."
(ANI)
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)