By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Friday that he believed the energy sector to be the government’s “Achilles heel”, and it would take at least five to seven years to resolve the issues the sector was facing.
Addressing businessmen at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said the government was trying to fix the problems the sector faced today, even though these were not a consequence of the actions of the incumbent government.
“Excessive electricity generation capacity has been built and we will have to consume that electricity,” he added, estimating that it would take at least five to seven years to use the excessive electricity.
Tarin’s remarks were in line with those of other Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders, who blame previous governments for launching electricity projects that were not necessary.
Reiterating the allegation, Tarin pointed out that the excessive capacity for electricity generation continued to build to this day, as various projects had been launched and could not be stopped midway.
“So there will be a time lag in addressing the issues faced by the energy sector and there will be a strain on us,” he said, stressing that within five to seven years, “we have to get some reprieve”.
