Islamabad - Energy-strapped Pakistan on Wednesday decided to extend the daylight saving time till October end as prolonged power cuts triggered violent protests throughout the country. Clocks were set forward by an hour on June 1 for three months to save electricity by benefiting from longer daylight. The move placed the local time six hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
"The federal cabinet has extended the daylight saving time on the suggestion of the Ministry of Water and Power that said the step proved beneficial," Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters in Islamabad.
Pakistan is facing an energy deficit of around 4,500 megawatts with low hydroelectric power generation, as the authorities focus on storing more water in reservoirs ahead of reduced inflows.
Irate consumers have taken to the streets in several cities, especially in eastern Punjab and southern Sindh provinces, to protest prolonged power cuts of as long 16 hours a day.
The demonstrators chanted slogans and burned tyres to block roads. There were also some reports that protesters pelted the offices of power generation and distribution companies with stones and ransacked property.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party alleged that not a single megawatt of energy was added to the national energy grid during more than eight years of rule by military strongman Pervez Musharraf, who resigned as president last week while facing impeachment.
Musharraf refuted the claim but conceded that power generation was not in proportion with consumption, which galloped in the wake of massive industrialization promoted by his government's economic policies.
Pakistan also switched to daylight saving time in 2002, but backtracked as the change was not followed by many people, particularly in rural areas.
