'Pakistan a country, not a phone that you'll reboot it': Imran Khan slammed over blackout

Cities and towns across Pakistan were plunged into darkness for several hours on Saturday night following a massive nationwide electricity blackout. Hitting out at Prime Minister Imran Khan-led PTI government over the power failure, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal said that PM Khan had "attempted to reboot the country".

'This is a country, not a mobile phone'

"The country's economy is in the doldrums. We have mounting deficits. Imran Khan thought: 'Why don't we reboot the country like a mobile phone? Maybe it'll work'," Iqbal said while mocking Khan, reported Geo News. "Imran Sahab, this is a country, not a mobile phone which will begin working after rebooting it. For God's sake do not play with the country like this. Hand in your resignation and go home," Iqbal said.

The PML-N leader further remarked that this unprecedented shutdown "proves that this government is incompetent and unqualified".

7 officials suspended

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Central Power Generation Company on Sunday suspended seven officials of Guddu Thermal Power Station on account of negligence during their duties which caused a massive power failure, reported Daily Pakistan. "Seven officials working under Plant Manager-III are hereby laced under suspension with immediate effect and until further orders, on account of the negligence of duty which caused power failure found in view of a preliminary inquiry," reads the notification issued by Central Power Generation Company Limited.

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This development comes after the federal government constituted a committee to investigate the sudden electricity failure that hit the country on late Saturday night. Pakistan's Energy Minister on Sunday said that the power breakdown occurred when the frequency in the national power distribution system (NTDC) suddenly fell from 50 to zero, adding that the matter was being investigated and attempts were being made to restart the Tarbela Power Station and restore supply.

Omar Ayub said he was personally supervising the restoration work and has been periodically sharing restoration updates on his Twitter account. According to a PTI report, Imran Khan said that the country faced 8 blackouts during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government's tenure from 2013-2018

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(With agency inputs)