Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, Awami National Party provincial President Afrasiab Khattak said that despite its huge share in hydel-generation system, 18 hours of loadshedding was being carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Flanked by Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Minister for Education Sardar Hussain Babak, Member National Assembly Jamila Gilani, Member Provincial Assembly Shagufta Malik and others, Afrasiab Khattak said that the Water and Power and Development Authority (Wapda) had failed to handle the situation amid growing electricity shortfall in the county.

“It is against the spirit of 18th Amendment to carry out unjustified loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said adding: “We would support peaceful protesters as the unprecedented power outages are unacceptable.”

Sharing the figure of electricity production in different power production units in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said that Tarbela Dam had the capacity to produce around 3,487 megawatts of electricity, followed by Warsak Dam generating 240 megawatts, Malakand-III 81 megawatts, Dargai 30 megawatts and Kurram Tangi 4.8 megawatts.

Afrasiab Khattak said that Ghazi Barotha was also producing more than 2,400MW electricity.Afrasiab Khattak said the Constitution had clearly stated that the areas that produced resources had the foremost right over them.

“We want political solution to this issue,” he said, adding that the APC would be held to devise a strategy to cope with the energy crisis.He said an ANP delegation would hold meeting with leaders of different political parties to devise a plan to address the issue.Afrasiab Khattack said the special session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would also be held on this one point agenda of loadshedding and energy crisis.