Pakistan Energy Sector

Pakistan’s hydropower generation agenda

Following article, written by Engineer Hussain Ahmad Siddiqui and published in Daily Dawn on 17th March 2009, is being reproduced here.

The Baghliar Dam – Reuters/File photo.

UNDER an agreement signed on February 22, China will provide technical assistance to Pakistan for hydropower projects on the model of the Three Gorges Dam, which is one of the largest hydropower complexes in the world.

 

Hydropower is globally recognised as a renewable, cheap and reliable resource of energy. It generates electricity with zero emission and produces no waste. There is no requirement of fuel, operating cost is much lower and hydropower plants have longer economic lives than thermal plants. Read More »Pakistan’s hydropower generation agenda

Pakistan buds of optimism amid towering risks

Optimism doesn’t flower very often in Pakistan, but the ending of the latest political crisis could prove cathartic.

The country sighed with relief when President Asif Ali Zardari’s agreed under pressure to reinstate Pakistan’s top judge, and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif disbanded a mass protest with a long march just hours away from Islamabad.

A moment of crisis passed. The risk of blood on the streets receded, barricades around the capital were removed and the army was told to stand down.

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Pakistan’s educated middle class, in the shape of the lawyers’ movement, has for the first time prevailed over vested interests in the political arena. —AFP

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Doubtless, Zardari will face more crises. Only the brave or foolish would predict stability in Pakistan.

After all, the nuclear-armed Muslim nation is learning how to make democracy work after several failed attempts, and its economy is kept afloat by the International Monetary Fund.Read More »Pakistan buds of optimism amid towering risks