Pakistanis furious as power shortages grip nation

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan

“Long power cuts and a lack of natural gas have made life miserable for us during the extremely cold season,” Khan tells AFP as he sets the flame of his ageing kerosene lamp to try and light up the pitch-black night.

“We had power cuts of between 15 to 16 hours since electricity load shedding resumed in December, but there has been no electricity in the area for the last five days,” he said from a city where the mercury can drop below freezing.

Pakistan faces a catastrophic energy crisis, suffocating industry, making life unbearable as cold winter weather grips the country, and fuelling anger at a government already suffering plummeting approval ratings.

AFP