The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday asked the lawyer representing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to justify the maintainability of a petition filed against electricity load shedding in Karachi.
Justice Iqbal Kalhoro heard the case, which was submitted by the JI Karachi chief. During the hearing, the bench questioned whether the petition could be entertained by the court.
The judge remarked that citizens who regularly pay their electricity bills and are not involved in theft should not face loadshedding. “Even if just one home in an area clears its dues, that household should not be punished,” he observed.
Turning to K-Electric’s lawyer, Justice Kalhoro inquired why a prepaid smart card electricity system had not been introduced in Karachi. He suggested that such a system would ensure usage only after advance payment.
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Responding to the court, K-Electric’s counsel said that launching a prepaid system would require a detailed policy framework. The judge pointed out that even if work began immediately, it could still take years to implement.
The lawyer added that since its privatization, K-Electric had made efforts to curb electricity theft, and about 70 percent of the Karachi was now free from load shedding. He also assured the court that the proposal for a prepaid electricity system would be forwarded to the company’s management.
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