Pakistan Electricity Outage: 220 million left in darkness as massive power outage grips nation

A massive power outage hit Pakistan on Monday, leaving nearly 220 million people without electricity. This has the potential to cause chaos in the country, which is already struggling with fuel shortages during the winter months.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Energy, the National Grid went down at 7:34 am local time, resulting in a widespread breakdown in the power system. Initial reports suggest that the cause of the outage is still being investigated. The statement added that system maintenance work is progressing rapidly.

According to the Ministry of Energy, a "limited number of grids" in the capital Islamabad and the city of Peshawar have had power restored. However, it is unclear how long the outage will last and efforts are underway to restore power to various parts of the country.


In the city of Quetta, in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, the effects of the outage have been felt in all aspects of daily life, including hospitals, markets, and households. The director of Balochistan’s health department, Dr Imran Zarkoon, told the media that due to the unavailability of generators, services in health centres in the suburbs of Quetta city have been affected. Zaheer, the owner of a clothing shop in Quetta, said that the whole market of Jinnah Road is practically shut, as without electricity customers do not turn to shops. He also said that they have no backup and have been waiting for the electricity to be restored for hours.


The electricity outage comes as Pakistan continues to deal with the country’s fragile economy with multiple challenges.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif had previously ordered all federal departments to cut power consumption by 30 per cent, adding to it, the Sharif-led government also announced markets to shut by 8:30 pm and restaurants to end business by 10 pm.

The decision to cut down on energy consumption came as Pakistan disclosed that its foreign exchange reserves had dropped to a concerningly low level. The central bank reported that as of December, the country's total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $11.7 billion, which is half of what it had at the beginning of 2020.

FAQs:

1. Who is the current Minister of Power in Pakistan?
   Hammad Azhar
2. Has any Pakistan Prime Minister completed his term?
   No Pakistan PM has yet served their full five-year term, till date.