Claiming that it was the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government that had eliminated loadshedding from the country, senior PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was yet to build a power plant in the country despite being in power for the last three and a half years, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said that three power plants were built under the last PML-N government: one at Hub, another at Port Qasim and the third one at Sahiwal. “And work on the fourth one was in progress when the party’s government’s term was over, elections were held and the PTI came to power, which is still to finish work on the project,” he said, adding it was because of these plants that the country had electricity in surplus. 

Former prime minister went on to say that there were some other power projects as well, which the PML-N government had either completed or had launched. “These included Nheelum Jhelum of 1,000 megawatts Tarbela 4, 1,500 megawatts, two nuclear power plants in Jhelum, 600 megawatts of coal-powered plant at Thar and others, including Nandipur Power Plant,” he elaborated.

Abbasi was of the view that LNG plants produced cheaper electricity not only inside the country, but also outside the country. He said the very idea of importing furnace oil smacked of ‘corruption’.