ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front(PIAF) has asked the government to exempt the industrial zones from electricity load shedding, as the power crisis, all over the country, has worsened and the total shortfall has crossed the level of more than 6,500MW.

PIAF senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi in a joint statement, said that all the major industrial cities of the country are facing electricity load shedding due to which the production activities are badly suffering. He said that rural areas are also facing severe load shedding at a time when the mercury is on the rise and this situation is making the life of common man more miserable.

Nasir Hameed expressed concern over long power outages and stressed the need to rectify technical faults immediately. He also called for urgent measures not only to improve the economic situation but also to overcome the power shortage.

He said that industrial zones across Pakistan are facing various durations of power breakdowns, as many units have closed down their night shift production owing to non-availability of power while others might follow the suit. Closure of the night shift would hit over 30 percent of total production of the manufacturer, he added.

Javed Siddiqi asked the authorities to take quick action, taking notice of forced load shedding in the export industry because of non-availability of fuel, technical faults, failure in purchasing of fuel and maintenance of the power plants, leading to crunch of thousands of megawatts across the country. He remarked that industry would not be able to meet timely shipments due to closure of one shift while local supplies of goods would also face problems.