Lahore/Karachi: A major power failure struck across Pakistan on Sunday due to a fault in the national electricity transmission system, a government official said.
"There is no electricity all over Pakistan," said Shafqat Jalil, a spokesman for the state-run utility, Water and Power Development Authority or WAPDA. "It's a national blackout."
Jalil said that electricity supply went down around 1.30pm because of an unexplained technical fault in the transmission system.
"Our men have no idea as to where the fault lies," Jalil said initially, adding that WAPDA authorities are investigating.
However, power has been restored to several areas in the capital, Islamabad, Jalil said. Jalil said that by 6.45pm power was restored to half of the country, including the capital Islamabad.
It would take another seven hours to get the rest of the country back online, Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem Khan said at a news conference.
Millions of homes were without power across the country but because many homes and businesses keep spare generators, no major disruption was reported in communication and other emergency services, he said.
"Hospitals and other emergency departments are on generators and backups," he added. In Karachi, almost 30 per cent of the areas were without power supply.
In Punjab, most parts of the province, including Lahore were without electricity for almost four hours.
WAPDA sources said a major technical fault in a 500 Kv transmission line from Tarbela dam led to the blackout across Punjab.
They also denied rumours that the power failure was due to sabotage.
A countrywide power breakdown coupled with reports about President Pervez Musharraf's medical check-up in the US triggered rumours here in Pakistan that the military had staged a coup.
The government quashed the rumours while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced work was under way to restore power supply.
It was not clear how the rumours started but they spread fast and were discussed in the streets for a few hours before finally subsiding after a government denial and statement of the prime minister.
Federal Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said in New York that the president was absolutely well. He dismissed rumours about heart surgery for the president.
Durrani said that Musharraf, 63, visited a friend in Texas who is a cardiologist and suggested he be examined.
"He went through that," Durrani said. "All systems are go. Everything is fine. He is as fit as a horse."
After leaving the hospital, Musharraf attended a private luncheon in the small town about 170 km northeast of Dallas, The Paris News reported in Saturday's online edition. Musharraf recently laughed off any threat to his power base when he was asked about the stability of his regime.
