Privatisation of 11 distribution companies: Electricity workers hold rallies across country

Lahore: Thousands of ele­c­tricity workers held protest rallies Monday all over the country under the aegis of All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union (CBA) against the proposed privatisation of 11 electricity distribution companies and profitable thermal power houses Guddu, Nandipur, the proposed closure of Muzaffargarh, Faisalabad, Jams­horo, Lakhra, Kotri thermal power houses against the public interest.

The protest rallies were held all over the country including Quetta, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Rahim Yar Khan, DG Khan, Multan, Sahiwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Swat, Peshawar and other cities. In Lahore, thousands of electricity/Wapda workers held a mass protest rally in front of the Punjab Assembly carrying national flags and banners in support of their demands and shouted slogans ‘long live Pakistan’ and ‘down with the proposed privatisation, IMF, capitalism and feudalism’. Khurshid Ahmad general secretary of the union, addressing the rally urged the prime minister to review the proposed privatisation of electricity distribution companies and profitable thermal power houses which had been decided by the cabinet committee to privatise. Since the experience of privatisation of Karachi Electric Supply Company failed miserably despite federal government financing KESC for Rs1300 billion

during these years.