Pakistan seeks help from China, US to avoid blackouts

Pakistan has sought support from China and the US to introduce technology that could prevent nationwide power breakdowns due to sabotage, Water and Power Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif said at a news conference.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had ordered the finance ministry to urgently arrange for PKRs.4,000 crore (nearly $400 million), last week, to import petrol and furnace oil for two months in the wake of the fuel crisis that has hit the country.

Asif said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the China State Grid had been approached for technical assistance to the isolated national grid from localised terrorist activities, and to avoid complete blackouts in future, Dawn online reported.

Pakistan is facing acute fuel and power shortages for the last 15 days.