国际英语新闻:Power outage sparks violent protest in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Hours of power outage in scorching summer Monday sparked protest in most parts of Pakistan and angry protesters attacked offices of power supply departments in some areas.

Pakistan faces about 5000 MW electricity shortfall which has forced the government to cut power for around 12 hours everyday in major cities including capital Islamabad. In small town and rural areas, power is suspended for nearly 18 hours.

Power shortage has also affected drinking water system as tube wells could not be run in time. Traders have also joined rallies in different parts of Pakistan who say that power crisis has badly affected their business.

Police fired in the air and used tear gas shells to disperse protestors who attacked offices of power supply companies and government vehicles in some parts of the country.

Information Minister Qamar-uz-Zama Kaira said that recent storm affected a few power plants which led to the crisis and promised that the situation would improve in a couple of days.

Officials say that thunderstorms and heavy rains affected the transmission of 1,750 megawatts of electricity supplied by a power plant in Punjab province to the national grid.

In the northwestern city of Abbotabad, traffic on the main Karakuram Highway has been blocked for hours. Also in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, demonstrators blocked the main road to Peshawar, the provincial capital. The police fired tear gas shells and used baton to disperse the demonstrators and to open roads.

In some cities, mobs burnt tyres and suspended traffic. TV footage showed angry protesters chanting slogans against the authorities for failure to ensure smooth power supply during the holy Muslim month of Ramazan.

In view of the severe power shortage and people's resentment, President Asif Ali Zardari convened a high level meeting to review the situation and to explore ways to improve power supply.

Experts believe that the previous and the incumbent government have not formulated an effective policy to deal with the power crisis.

Demand for power is fast growing in Pakistan and there is no major policy in the offering to overcome the shortfall.