Friday, July 26, 2013: Pakistan plans to meet its growing power crisis by procuring power from the Gujarat state government. Salman Bashir, the Pakistan High Commissioner had informed Times Now, an Indian TV channel that Pakistan’s technical teams have paid visit to two power plants based in Gujarat, one of which is a solar power plant.
Bashir reiterated that the entire process of procurement of energy can only take place once there is a dialogue process initiated between the two countries.
Pakistan had emphasised earlier in the month that it hopes to hold a formal composite talk with India to address the ongoing mistrust between them.
At the moment, dates are being worked out by officials of both countries for the next meeting. It is expected that the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif during the UN General Assembly session which will be held in New York in September.
Pakistan is faced with major blackouts that last over 12 hours in certain areas. This has forced many Pakistanis to force its new prime minister to tackle the crisis as one of his top priorities.
The Pakistani government is selling power at a lower rate than the cost of production. Moreover, it defers payment of subsidies or does not pay which has caused it to lose around 5 billion rupees in the last five years.
Source: nation.com.pk
